


Finger Paintings

by Urundermyskin



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Angry Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Car Sex, Drunk Sex, Fluff, Jealous Ian Gallagher, M/M, Pimp Mickey, Sad Mickey, Smut, Teacher Ian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 05:23:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 34,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12764058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Urundermyskin/pseuds/Urundermyskin
Summary: Ian is a kindergarten teacher and Yev Milkovich is a boy in his class. The day before bring your parent to school day, Yev starts to tell the other kids that his dad is a pimp. Ian over hears the conversation and calls Mickey in to talk about his son's abnormal behaviors. Because after all, what six year old boy would make up such a bizzare story if it wasn't true?





	1. "My Dad is a Pimp!"

"Are you coming into school tomorrow with me?" Yev asks, kicking his feet excitedly back and forth.

"Bud, you know I can't," Mickey tells him, glancing back in the rear view mirror. Yev lets out a sigh and looks down at his old converses.

"But why?" He whines. "All of the other kids are having their mommy or daddy come into class to talk about their job. I want you to come so everyone can see how cool my dad is!" Yev says, grinning widely. Mickey wanted to go. As much as his wife, Svet, got on his nerves or annoyed the hell out of him, Mickey always loved his son. He would do anything for the boy. Just not go to school and talk about his job because if he did, he'd have a bunch of parents who weren't too happy with him.

"Remember what I told you, right?" Mickey asks.

"No telling anyone about daddy's job!" He says proudly. Mickey nods and smiles.

"That's right. Otherwise you know I'd be the first parent there for you."

Mickey hadn't wanted to tell Yev what he did. That he was a pimp and his own wife was one of his "whores". Kev just wasn't the best of babysitters and Yev kind of walked in on Mickey while he was in the middle of settling a debt some of his regulars owed him. Mickey was practically forced to explain to Yev what was happening.

Yev sighs. "But that's not fair. Everyone's gonna make fun of me for not having a parent."

"Yev, I'm not arguing over this. I'll make up for it, I promise." Mickey says as he pulls into the parking lot of Yev's school. He parks the car and turns it off. He then unbuckles and got out of the old beaten up vehicle. Yev grabs his backpack with little rocket ships on it and climbs out of the car. He grabs his dad's hand and the two walk up to the main doors.

"You can make up for it by getting me ice cream after school," he says, grinning.

Mickey chuckles. "You got it, kiddo. I'll make sure I have a vanilla cone in the car for you when I pick you up."

"With sprinkles!" Yev reminds. Mickey nods and grins.

"With sprinkles," he says. Mickey crouches down and kisses his son's forehead. "Have a good day."

Yev smiles. "Bye daddy!" He says before walking into the school.

Yev walks through the hallways and into Mr. Gallagher's kindergarten class. Everyone else was already there so Yev was the last to arrive. "Hi Mr. Gallagher," Yev says, smiling.

Ian chuckled. "Hi, Yevgeny. Late again, huh?" He says softly.

"Blame my dad! He's the one that drives me," he says.

"What's your excuse this time?" Ian asks as Yev hands him his backpack. Yev always had excuses as to why his dad made him late and every time, they were true even if Ian didn’t believe them. But he always listened to them anyways. Most of the times, he thought the kid was just trying to make him laugh.

"Well my dad was trying to make pancakes this morning and the fire alarms went off! So then my grandpa got really really mad and him and my dad were fighting but it's okay because Aunt Mandy made me a bowl of cereal." He says as he sits down in his seat.

Ian lets out a small chuckle. "Well I'm glad you got breakfast this morning," he says. He then hangs up Yev's backpack next to all the other ones and stands in front of all the kids. Finger Paintings and other art works from the kids littered his walls. It wasn't the most organized room, but Ian loved it anyways. The class began and it was just like any normal day. The kids would easily get distracted but Ian would win their attention back by bribing them with candy. Finally it was the end of the day and the last few kids sat in the corner waiting for their parents.

"Is your mom or dad coming tomorrow?" Yev asks a boy.

The boy nods. "Yeah, my mom is coming. She's a fireman!" He says proudly. "Is one of your parents coming?" Yev nods, lying. "What does your parent do?"

"My daddy is coming and he's a pimp!" He says, forgetting about the whole secrecy over the topic. Ian over hears him but doesn't say anything at first. He figured he had just misheard the boy or that he was making an innocent joke.

"What does that mean?" He asks.

"It means he has a bunch of ladies working for him and he makes lots of money! He also sells drugs!"

"Yevgeny Milkovich, that is not appropriate to be talking about in school," he says as the other little boy's father comes in to take him home.

"But why not? He asked what my daddy did and I told him," Yev says, smiling widely.

Ian raises an eyebrow at this. Obviously Yev had to of been confused. But then again, it was the south side and it wouldn't have been the first time a parent from the school had an illegal job. "Because I don't think your dad really has that job. I think you may of misunderstood him or something, kiddo."

Yev shakes his head. "No I accidentally found out one day because I heard my daddy talking to some man. And! And I heard him talking to mommy once! My mom works for him!"

"Yev, why don't you go over and sit down while you wait for your dad? You can go and color for a while so I could have a quick little talk with him, okay?" Ian asks him.

Yev nods. "Okay," the boy says. He sets his bag on the ground before going over to a little round table and sitting down with a box of crayons and colored paper.

Ian went back over to his desk and sat down. Yev was the last kid to be picked up, so Ian started to pack up his things. He grabbed his coat and set it on his desk. Finally after a few more minutes Mickey shows up.

"Daddy!" Yev yells excitedly, running over to Mickey and hugging him. "I missed you today!"

"I missed you too, kiddo," he says.

"Mr. Milkovich? May I speak with you real quick?" Ian asks. Mickey looks over at him. He had caught a quick glance at Yev's teacher before, but Svet was the one that normally picked Yev up from school. So when Mickey saw how good looking he was, he was actually surprised.

"Uh, yeah I guess so," he says and then looks down at Yev. "Why don't you go color or something while I go talk, okay?" Yev nods and goes back over to coloring. Mickey goes over to him and Ian smiles at him.

"I'm Mr. Gallagher," he says, extending his hand for Mickey to shake. He smiled warmly at Mickey but Mickey didn't return the smile. Instead he gave him a curt nod and shook his hand. Ian couldn't lie when he said he was intimated by Mickey. The man seemed to be all business. His hair was slicked back and he had on a nice, black button up along with a dark pair of jeans. But it wasn't just the way he was dressed or his attitude that intimidated Ian. It was also his physical features. Ian had been out since he was 14. Now, he was no longer afraid to admit to himself when he found a man attractive and Mickey was obviously one of those men. But Ian knew about Mickey's wife and his son, Ian wouldn't even consider going after a straight man. He wasn't stupid. He wouldn't waste his time over a man that he had no chance with.

Ian sat behind his desk as mickey pulled a chair over. He leaned back in it and folded his arms over his chest. "So you gonna tell me what this is about? I gotta get shit done," he mumbled.

Ian gave him a look before letting out a small sigh. "I don't want to make a big deal over nothing, but your son, Yevgeny, has been telling the other kids a crazy story," he said. "He's been telling them all that you're a drug dealer. . . And that you're a pimp. I mean I realize kids have an active imagination, but don't you think this is a little bit much?"

Mickey couldn't help the snort that escaped his lips. He gave Ian a smug smirk and nodded his head. "See the thing is, maybe he shouldn't be making that stuff up, but he ain't your kid, he's mine. So maybe you shouldn't try to control him, ya know? You gotta let the kids have an imagination."

"Mr. Milkovich, I understand that, but the kid's making up crazy stories about you and his home life and this isn't the first time he's done something like this."

Mickey nods and runs his knuckles over his nose, trying to hide his small smile.

Ian rose an eyebrow at Mickey's tatted knuckles. "You grow up south side?" Ian asked. Sure the tattoos could mean nothing. Mickey could easily be from the north side all his life. But the way he carried himself and talked, made things kind of obvious.

Mickey nods. "Born and raised."

"Huh," Ian mumbles, nodding his head. He was trying to remember if he had ever met this man before. He wanted to get a better understanding of him because for all Ian knew, the guy could be a pimp. "Me too. It's weird we've never met before. I mean I went to military school for a while, but still."

Mickey nods. "Well I spent a year or two in and out of juvie, so that might be why we never met."

"Juvie, huh?" Ian questions.

Mickey nods. "Yep. First time was for stealing shit and second time was for assaulting an officer." Mickey didn't even bother on trying to lie. He wasn't ashamed of his past mistakes, not one bit.

  
Mickey rose from his chair. "Listen, I gotta get going. I'll... I'll talk to Yev when I get home if it'll make you feel better, all right?"

Ian sighs and nods. "I'll see you tomorrow then? At the bring your parents to work day? We can clear this whole situation up then once you tell us about your real career," he says, chuckling.

Mickey forces a small chuckle himself. "Yeah, I, uh, I'll see you tomorrow then," he said.

"Ready to go, champ?" Mickey asks Yev. Yev grins and nods.

"Yeah!" He says, taking Mickey's hand. Mickey was pissed that Yev told the whole class about his career choice but what did Mickey expect? Five year olds weren't the best at keeping secrets.


	2. Bring Your Parents to School Day

"Are you gonna tell everyone about your job? Mommy should have came too to help," Yev said, grinning widely at Mickey.

Mickey looks down at him. "Yevvy, remember? I'm here to tell everyone about my construction job. That's why I brought the blocks so that the kids can build," he explains as he opens the door and Yev walks through.

Yev nods. "Right, I remember now," he says, skipping happily next to Mickey. "I'm just happy you're here!"

Mickey couldn't help but smile down at his son. At first he was nervous that this wouldn't work. That Yev was going to blurt out his real work. But Mickey couldn't say no to the kid. He didn't want to admit it, but he always had a soft spot for him. They walk into the classroom and Ian greets them. "Morning Yev," Ian says.

"Morning Mr. Gallagher! Look, my dad came today!"

Ian laughs and extends his hand for Mickey. "I can see that. "Good morning, Mr. Milkovich," he says.

"Mickey," he corrects him, shaking Ian's hand.

Ian nods. "Mickey, got it," he says. "Go ahead and sit down by Yev and we'll get things started once everyone gets here, okay?" Ian's eyes linger over Mickey as he turns to sit for slightly longer than he should have. He just felt his eyes keep getting drawn to Mickey, checking out his features. He quickly clears his throat sitting down at his desk. When he looks up he could see Mickey glance away quickly. A small grin spreads across Ian's face. Sure Mickey had a wife and a kid but from the moment he met Mickey, he could tell there was something about him. Something that wasn't what it seemed to be. And maybe, just maybe Ian's instincts were right and he did have a chance with him after all. But of course he couldn't act on his instincts now. He'd have to get Mickey alone. And Ian would die trying.

The bring your parents to work day went rather smoothly if Ian had anything to say about it. That was until Mickey Milkovich went up there. While, his was the smoothest one but to Ian it was different. Instead of focusing on his job, he was focusing on Mickey. He'd stare at his jaw line and then the hair. God, Ian liked the hair. Just like yesterday, the jet black locks were slicked back with gel, keeping off of his forehead and helping to show off his eyebrows even more. When Mickey went around passing out the blocks for the kids to build with, he had dropped one. It only lasted a mere second or two, but when Mickey bent over, Ian's eyes sneakily followed Mickey down, staring at his ass in the dark jeans.

Ian's cheeks flushed soft pink when Mickey stood back up and looked directly at Ian. Fuck. He had been caught. But Ian tried to play it off. He gave Mickey a friendly smile and a corresponding thumbs up.

"Daddy you're doing really good," Ian heard yevgeny whisper.

Mickey smiles. "Thanks bud," he said. He kisses the top of his head and places the last of the blocks on his desk.

"Okay," he said, walking back to the front of the class. "So obviously, construction is a lot different from building blocks, but I know how much yevgeny loved to play with them and make buildings. So right now, I want all of you to build the biggest building you can!" Mickey said, fake enthusiasm was practically dripping from his mouth. He was good at this by now. Every time Terry would come home, wanting to go to the alibi and take Mickey with him, Mickey would have to fake his excitement the whole time, until Terry finally got too drunk to even realize where he was.

As laughing and falling blocks filled the air, Mickey leaned back against Ian's desk, folding his arms over his chest.

"Well that was successful," Ian said, walking over to him.

Mickey shrugs, barely even acknowledging Ian next to him. "Thanks," he mumbles. He wanted nothing more than to just get out of the class. And not just because he was in a rush or annoyed per-say. He was just mad. Mad that he had to keep fighting this feeling in the pit of his stomach. A feeling to get Ian alone, maybe in a bathroom stall or closet and get down on his knees in front of the other man. It was crazy to think that of yevgeny's teacher, but Mickey couldn't help it. Being raped and then forced to marry Svet, hadn't gone along with Terry's plan like he thought it had. Mickey was still 110% gay and into dick.

And right now his gayness was showing, almost through his pants. Ian was close enough that their arms brushed against each other and Mickey immediately took a step away, cursing himself at how easy it was for him to get turned on.

"So, tomorrow we have some of the kids staying after to help make the props for the class play. Will you and Yev be attending?" Ian asks.

"A fucking play?" He asks, looking over at Ian. "No way. Yev's not helping."

"Oh... cause your wife svetlana signed yevgeny up to help," he said, frowning.

Mickey frowns. "She what? Course she fucking did. She always does shit without telling me and then expects me to do it for her." He mumbles, mostly to himself.

Ian felt a small smile creep up. He knew that would be his chance. To find out if Mickey was gay or not and Ian sure as hell wasn't going to waste a perfectly good opportunity. He was going to get Mickey alone and make his move.

Ian laughs. "Well guess I'll see you there then," he says, patting Mickey's back which just caused the man to shrug him away.

Mickey rolls his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I've got work though so don't think Yev can stay for long," he said. A small part of Mickey wanted him to go to this thing. He'd much rather be here, getting perfectly good eye candy from Ian instead of at home with his bitch of a wife, Svetlana. Soon a small smile appeared on his face, matching Ian's. "Honestly, finger painting some shit sounds better than taking orders at home."

Ian's smile grew and he nodded. "Well I can't wait to finger paint with you, Mickey," Ian said, half joking.


	3. Coming Out of The Closet

Mickey would be lying if he said he wasn't excited for tonight. Sure it was just some stupid arts and crafts, but Ian Gallagher was going to be there and that was enough to get Mickey excited. Nothing was going to happen between them, but just the sight of Ian was all Mickey needed. He had been cock blocked for months by Svetlana and his dad. The occasional opportunity he had to sneak out and get in a quick hook up, Mickey would take it, but the second Svet caught wind of that, she threatened to tell Terry about everything. The last thing Mickey wanted was to get the shit beat out of him, especially in front of his son.

"Yevgeny! It's time to go!" He calls.

"You going to be late to crafts," Svetlana scolded.

"Yeah well blame your son. He's slow as shit,"  
Mickey mumbled as he tugged on his boots.

"Blame yourself. Home late from work, like everyday," she said.

"Can't help it that I'm the breadwinner in the family. While you're jerking cock for a couple bucks, I'm over here bringing in the money. So shut the fuck up and leave me alone," Mickey said as yevgeny walks in.

"Stop fighting," Yev says. "People who love eachother, aren't supposed to fight."

"Don't worry about us, bud," Mickey says as he zips up Yev's coat. "Now lets get going so we aren't late, okay?"

Yev nods, grinning widely as he pulls his hat onto his head. It was early November, so in Chicago it was already freezing.

"When you get home come to room. No sleeping on couch," Svetlana says. She always tried to pretend that they were a real couple and by law they were, but to Mickey all she was was baggage. Something he couldn't get rid of thanks to his father.

"Yeah, we'll see," he mumbles as he grabs the keys and heads out the door with Yevgeny.

The two of them drive to the school and park. "Are you excited to paint?" Yev asks, smiling.

Mickey nods. "Course I am, bud," he said as he gets Yev out of the car and they walk into the school. It was after hours, so there were janitors cleaning out some of the rooms and the occasional teacher who had nothing better to do than grade the works of elementary school students.

"Hi, Mr. Carlson!" Yev said, waving at one of the janitors.

The janitor looks up and smiles back. "Hey, Yevgeny," he said.

Yev smiles and looks up at Mickey. "That's my friend, Mr. Carlson," he said as they walked into the gym where they were doing the arts and crafts.

"Mr. milkovich, Yev," Ian says happily, walking over to the two. "I'm glad you could make it."

Mickey shrugs. "Yev practically begged me to come here. I couldn't say no to him," he says as Yev runs over to color with the other kids. "What is this play about anyways?" Mickey asks, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"We're reinacting Noah's arc. Yevgeny is going to be playing the lion. He's really excited about it too," Ian says softly, smiling. "You could help me and the other parents. We're coming up with a design for the fliers."

"Why the fuck does it matter what they look like? It's a kindergarten play," Mickey says. He really didn't understand what the big deal was. It wasn't like a broadway play. It was a play being held in the gym of an elementary school. Whenever Mickey was involved in anything as a kid, his father couldn't give less of a shit about it. Never even bother to show up to his little league games unless he was wasted or high. And even then he'd either pick a fight with another parent or pass out on the ground.

"It matters to the kids, Mr. Milkovich," he says. "They've been working hard for this play. I'm surprised your wife hasn't told you about this. Like I said, Yev is really excited about it."

Mickey snorts. "My wife doesn't tell me shit. What she does so is tattle like a fucking kid to my dad to get me in trouble," he mumbles. Mickey still felt small bubbles of anger in his chest from talking with Svetlana before he left and he'd tell anyone who would listen to him about how pissed he was He hated that he couldn't do anything he wanted to just because Svetlana was telling on him. To Mickey, it sounded like something a kid would do.

Ian nods slowly. "I'm a kindergarten teacher, not a therapist, but maybe you should actually talk to her about things and maybe she'd do the same. You'd be surprised at what Yev has told me about your family situation. I try to keep out of it but some times it's hard to," Ian tells him.

Mickey raises an eyebrow. "You're right, you are a kindergarten teacher. So why don't you go sit down and fucking finger paint instead of worrying about my marriage," he mutters.

Ian threw his hands up in defense. "I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just saying it how it is."

"Yeah well why don't you take your words and shove them up your ass cause I'm not in the mood," Mickey said and with that he was done with the conversation.

He walked over to Yev and sat down next to him. "Whatcha working on?" He whispers.

Yev looks up at him and smiles. "I'm making a big tree! But I need more green construction paper," he said, frowning as he glued the last piece on.

Mickey nods. "It's okay, why don't I go find some, okay?"

Yev nods, smiling. "Thank you daddy."

Mickey kisses the top of his head before getting up and walking out of the cafeteria.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ian asks, jogging after him.

"Can't I go somewhere without having you breath down my fucking neck?" He mumbles, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I'm getting construction paper."

"I have some in my room. I can get you some." Ian offers and Mickey nods.

The two of them go to Ian's room and he unlocks the door for them before walking inside. "I didn't mean to offend you earlier about your wife," Ian says softly.

Mickey nods. "Yeah, I know. It's fine," he says, leaning back against Ian's desk. Ian goes over to a cabinet and bends down to get the paper out. Mickey couldn't help but stare at Ian's ass as he bent over. His work pants were pulled tight against them and Mickey smirked slightly.

"Uh-um," Ian mumbles awkwardly as he catches Mickey staring.

Mickey quickly looks up at him, face red. "Uh..." was all Mickey could manage.

Ian let out a small chuckle and set the green paper on the desk. "I'm gonna take a guess based on observation.... but from the way I've been catching you staring at me on several occasions,  
I'm going to say you and your wife have a lot of marriage problems. And I'm going to guess that one of them is that you're not into chicks, are you?"

Mickey raises an eyebrow. He was caught. Oh god, he felt like he was going to throw up but he was going to do anything in his power to hide it. "So you think I'm a faggot?"

"I'm not... there's nothing wrong with being gay. I'm gay," Ian says, moving closer to Mickey.

Mickey looks at Ian's lips and licks his own. "You're gay?" He asks quietly.

Ian nods, gently pushing Mickey back against the wall. "Yeah. Are you?" He asks, knowing the answer.

Mickey nods slightly. "Don't fucking tell any-"  
Before he could finish, his lips were met with Ian's, kissing him deeply. There had been several occasions where svet had kissed Mickey, but none of them felt this good.

Mickey stood there frozen for just a second before he gave into the kiss. He placed his hand behind Ian's neck and pulled him in deeper, slipping his tongue into Ian's mouth. Ian, strategically pushes Mickey back into the closed, and closes the door behind them.

"Take off your pants," Mickey mumbles and Ian complies. They both fumble with their zippers in the dimly lit closet. Mickey was the first one to get his pants down to his ankles, just abandoning them there as Ian finally got his down as well.

"Bend over," Ian says as he pulls his boxers down and strokes himself a few times. Mickey watches, licking his lips before nodding quickly and doing as Ian told him to. Ian pulls Mickey's boxers down and grins when he sees his ass. He grabs it with both hands and holds it roughly as he trails kisses up Mickey's spine that causes him to shiver.

"Skip all this gay, mushy shit. Just fuck me already. You got any lube?" Mickey mumbles, turning his head to the side so he could look back at Ian. Ian smirks a bit and nods.

"Right," he says as he quickly reaches into the pocket of his pants and pulls out his wallet, getting the small thing of lube out. Mickey snorts.

"Didn't think you'd actually have any?"

"Why not? Don't think I do this a lot?"

"No, cause most dudes don't bring lube to an elementary school."

Ian's face goes red. "Fuck off. I don't normally use it here until now."

He keeps one hand on Mickey's ass as he opens the pack of lube with his mouth and squirts some onto his fingers. He jerks himself a few more times, smearing the lube before slipping a finger into Mickey in order to semi-prepare him. Mickey lets out a small grunt. He hadn't been fucked in months, so he was a little out of practice.

"Shit you're tight. Need me to stretch you?" Ian asks.

"Fuck off. I'm pretty sure I can take your dick," Mickey mumbles back. Ian just shrugs slightly and pulls his finger out, slowly replacing it with his cock instead.

Mickey lets out a groan and grips onto a shelf that was in the closet. "Fuck," he breathes out as Ian starts to thrust.

"You okay?" Ian whispers, lips trailing over Mickey's neck. Mickey couldn't even get words out of his mouth. He just nodded slightly as a soft moan escaped his lips.

Ian wrapped his arm around Mickey's waist, pulling him back closer to him. "Shit," Mickey breathed out as Ian went deeper inside of him. He reaches down and grips onto Ian's wrist tightly as Ian pounds into him.

"C'mon, Gallagher, that all you got," Mickey teases.

Ian couldn't help the breathless chuckle that escaped his lips. Even while being fucked, Mickey was cocky. He pushed Mickey up against the wall so that his chest was pressed against it. "Damn, Gallagher. I'm gonna cum," Mickey mumbled, his eyes fluttering shut. Ian nods and reaches down with one hand to jerk Mickey off. It didn't take much more until Mickey was pulled over the edge, letting out a semi-loud moan as he did. And that was all Ian needed. He pressed his face into the crook of Mickey's neck as he came as well.

Mickey leans his forehead against the shelf, panting softly as Ian pulls out and tugs his pants back up. He looks at Mickey, grinning. "You good?"

Mickey doesn't reply, just pulls up his pants as well. "Yeah, fine. Just gotta go to the fucking bathroom now since you didn't pull out to blow your load."

Ian laughs. "You should have told me to!" He argues. Mickey rolls his eyes, trying to hide his grin.

"Whatever, man. Can you just bring the fucking paper back to Yev so I can go?" He asks but before he could reply a small voice came from outside of the closet.

"Daddy?" Yev said as he wandered into the classroom. "Mr. Gallagher?"

Mickey's eyes go wide and he looks at Ian. "Fuck. Shit fuck is that my son? That's my fucking son," he says as he quickly zips up his pants. "Don't fucking move. He can't find us in here."

Ian nods quickly in agreement. He tucks his shirt in quickly and scoots back away from Mickey, only to knock the markers off of the shelf.

Yev turns and looks at the closet. "Daddy?"

"Way to fucking go," Mickey whispers harshly. Ian throws his hands up.

"I didn't mean to!"

Mickey lets out a heavy sigh, knowing his only option is to open the door and act cool before Yev just opens it himself. "Don't act stupid," he mumbles before opening the door

Yev stares up at him, confused look on his face. "Dad? What were you doing in there with Mr. Gallagher?"

"Uh... we were looking for some of the green paper."

"But it's on his desk," he says, pointing to Ian's desk. Mickey's face goes red and Ian realizes it's his turn to step in.

"Well I thought we should make a flag for the boat and I thought green would be a cool color for it so we had to find more of it," he says, smiling softly.

Yev nods before looking back at Mickey, giggling after a second. "I can see your undies! I see London! I see France! I see daddy's underpants!"

Mickey quickly looks down to where Yev was pointing. He mentally kicks himself as he notices his boxers were stuck in his zipper. Perks to getting dressed in a dimly lit closet after having sex with your son's kindergarten teacher. Mickey tried to pull the zipper down, but it had the boxers wedged into them. The next few seconds consisted of Yev practically in tears from laughing, Mickey angrily yanking on his zipper and Ian, who was just leaning against his desk, wishing he'd just disappear.

After the longest thirty seconds of his life, Mickey was able to pull his zipper back up. "Um, okay, it's time to go Yev," he says quickly and Yev nods.

"Okay, can I come back after school tomorrow to finish my tree?"

Mickey nods. "Yeah, whatever," he says as he takes Yev's hand and leads him out of the room, not even glancing back at Ian as he does so.


	4. Dig Your Way Out

"Home early," Svetlana says as Yev sits down at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, daddy said we had to go, but we can go back tomorrow," Yev explain and starts to laugh again. "And guess what I saw?"

"What?" Svet asks, setting down a plate of chicken tenders for Yev.

"I saw daddy's undies! He was in the closet looking for paper with Mr. Gallagher! And when he came out I was there and his undies got stuck in his zipper."

Svetlana raises an eyebrow and looks over at Mickey. "This true?"

"Yeah, I was looking for paper in the closet, not that exciting."

Svetlana looks at Yev. "Go to room and play with legos, yes?" Yev nods and smiles. He gets up out of his chair and goes to his room.

"You fucked orange boy?" Svetlana asks.

Mickey shakes his head. He tried to remain calm when he was truly panicking on the inside. If she found out, she could tell Terry about it all. "I didn't fuck the teacher," he says, which wasn't a lie. It was actually the other way around. "I had gone to the bathroom before and my boxers got stuck in my zipper.

Svetlana shakes her head. "Don't believe you. Orange boy is hot, yes? I know you think so. But he is teacher and he is straight. Not fag like you."

Mickey raises an eyebrow and gets in svetlana's face. "I'm not a faggot. What I did was a one time thing. So you better back the fuck up and watch yourself."

Svetlana lets out a small, cocky laugh. "You think you scare me? You don't. You're just small, pathetic man. I have bigger dick than you."

Mickey scoffs and backs up from her. "You really think I fucked him? Cause you're wrong. I don't do that shit. I don't fuck a bunch of random guys like someone in this house."

"I tell Terry about this. You call me whore, I tell Terry you're still fag, yes?" Svetlana threatens. Whenever she didn't know how to continue the argument, she'd bring up Terry and it almost always worked.

"Just use Terry as a fucking weapon against me cause you're too pussy to do anything yourself."

"He come home tonight. I tell him," Svetlana says before walking to their bedroom and shutting the door. Mickey just shakes his head and grabs his pack of cigarettes. So what if he had hooked up with Ian? He didn't get what the big deal was. Svetlana hooked up with guys all the time.

He walked out front and sat down on the porch, shivering from the cold. He placed a cigarette between his lips and cupped a hand around it as he lit it up. He was screwed if Terry did come home. He'd sure as hell get his ass beat if Svetlana kept her promise to tell Terry. What was he thinking? He should have known he couldn't have hid this from her. But he was just so..... so lonely. He needed to feel something.

As if to just add to the whole situation no other than Ian Gallagher and some younger boy, come running down the block. Mickey could see them approaching and almost decides to go inside before they see him but it's too late.

"Mickey?" Ian says, laughing. "I didn't know you lived this close. I'm just a block away."

Mickey nods and butts out his cigarette. "Yeah, well this is the shit hole I call home," he mumbles, standing up.

"This is my brother, Carl," he says, pointing to the other boy.

Mickey knew the boy too. He rose an eyebrow at him and nodded slowly. Carl Gallagher, Mickey should have pieced the last name together sooner than now, but Mickey had gone on a few runs with Carl, trying to teach him the basics until carl quit it all. Mickey was actually happy for him. Glad the kid got out while he still could.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Mickey," he says to Carl.

Carl nods, trying to hide his small smirk. "Yeah, you too."

Mickey then looks back at Ian, just as the front door opens.

Ian smiles. "Mrs. Milkovich, hey. I was just on a run and saw your husband outside so I thought I'd say hello."

Svetlana nods. "Well I need piece of shit husband inside."

Carl bites back a laugh as Ian's eyes go a little wide.

"Duty calls," Mickey mumbles. "I, uh, I'll see you tomorrow when I drop Yev off I guess."

Ian nods, still smiling though he could obviously tell Svetlana was upset or angry about something. "Yeah, I'll see you then," Ian said before him and Carl took off again.

Mickey let out a sigh and stands up.

"You tell orange boy and friend to come over?" She asks, folding her arms over her chest. She tried everything in her power to get Mickey go act like a real husband, but it was hard because Mickey was beyond stubborn.

"Yeah, like I fucking told him to get his ass over to my place since you just got all pissy about him. So no, I didn't. I don't even like the dude. I think he's too nosey anyways," he mutters before shoving his way inside. "Shows on tonight anyways that I wanted to watch."

"No, yevgeny needs bath, so you help," she says, shutting the door harshly.

Mickey sighs. "Can't you fucking do it? You haven't done anything except gurgle balls all day."

"No, I do laundry. Now go. Or I get more mad," she says. Mickey stares at her and flips her off before going to Yev's room.

"Bath time, kiddo," Mickey says and Yev nods.

"Can we play with my superheroes again?" He asks as he grabs his pajamas.

Mickey nods. "Sure, but its late, so you'll have to hurry with your bath okay?"

Yev nods and grabs as many of his action figures as he could before running to the bathroom and dropping them all in the tub. Yev turns on the tub as Mickey walks back in the bathroom.

Soon enough, Mickey had his hands full with shampoo and action figures. "You're going down joker!" Yev yells, laughing. He had a makeshift mohawk that Mickey had made out of the shampoo.

"You can't stop me, batman! I'm going to beat you!" Mickey said back. If any of the other thugs that Mickey worked with saw him right now none of them would ever take him seriously again.

Yev laughs and pushes joker into the bathtub. "You're done now! I'm batman and I always win!" He says.

Mickey laughs. "Okay, okay. Can I rinse out the shampoo now?" Yev nods, setting batman on the side of the tub.

"Okay," he said yawning. He closes his eyes and leans his head back, letting Mickey rinse out the soap.

He helps Yev out and the boy gets dressed. He shivers as he gets dressed before running to his bedroom and pulling the covers up to his chin. Mickey follows his son. "You tired?" He asks softly, turning on Yev's nightlight.

"Yeah, school is really tiring," he says. Mickey smiles and kisses his forehead.

"Goodnight, kiddo. I'll see you in the morning," he says.

Yev smiles and nods. "Night, daddy. I love you."

"I love you too."

Mickey turns off the light and closes the door, walking out to the living room. After his argument with Svet, there was no way he was sleeping in the bedroom with her. Instead he retired himself on the couch. He tugs his jeans off and his button up so that he was just left in his boxers and beater. He lays on the couch, watching the dimly lit tv until he falls asleep.

_____________________________________

Mickey had practically went down on his knees, begging Svet not to come but she did anyways. The three of them piled into the car and headed towards the school. It was Friday evening and they had to do a few more things for the play. Mickey knew the only reason why Svetlana wanted to come was because of Ian. Svetlana wanted to mark her territory, make sure Ian learned to back off.

So the second the three of them walked up to the school, Svetlana reached for Mickey's hand. "The fuck are you doing?" He mumbles, yanking his hand away.

"We married, yes? Married people hold hands," she says as she forcefully grabs Mickey's hand. "You hold my hand or I tell Terry about orange boy. I didn't yesterday like I said I would. Today though, you listen or I tell him."

Mickey didn't say a word. Instead he had to focus on not squeezing Svetlana's hand to death. He clenched his jaw and reluctantly reached down to grab her hand again, making Svetlana smile. The three of them walked into the cafeteria and Ian was the first one to see them. He gives them a big smile, but it falters for just a second when he sees their joined hands. "Hey, glad you could make it. Nice to see you again, Mrs. Milkovich," he says softly.

Svetlana just nods.

"Hey," Mickey mumbled awkwardly. He gives Ian a look, practically screaming "help me!"

"Lets sit and help Yevgeny, yes?" Svet says.

Mickey nods slowly. "Yeah, sure," he mumbles. They walk past Ian, Mickey not even daring to look back at him before they both sit at the same table as Yev and soon enough, Mickey was knee deep in glue and colored paper. He had finally been able to distract himself from Svet by cutting out a couple of shitty windows for the boat. But of course his serenity didn't last long. Soon enough, he felt someone kiss his jaw. Mickey immediately jerks his head back and looks at svet. "What the fuck?" He mutters.

Svetlana shrugs and points to another couple who were smiling at either other and kissing while their son colored. "We should be like that. Happy family."

"Yeah, well one, I'm not fucking happy, especially when you're kissing me. And two, you're not family," he mumbles, turning his head away, but of course she was going to have her way. And to make things even better for her and worse for Mickey, Ian walked over to them, sitting down next to Mickey. Svetlana was just going to wait for her opportunity.

"Hey, things going okay over here?" He asks. Mickey nods.

"Yeah, if you don't mind having oval windows instead of circular ones," he says, grinning a bit.

Ian laughs. "Oh god, we'll have to cancel the whole play now. We can't have oval windows!" He teases and Mickey laughs a bit.

"I can help," Svet says and takes the scissors from Mickey's hands.

"He said they were fine. Just leave them alone," he mumbles.

"No, they look like shit. I fix it," she says. She grabs the window frame Mickey had cut out and starts to cut.

"Jesus svet, it's a fucking paper window. Just leave it alone, okay?" Mickey says, clenching his jaw. He was beyond pissed but he knew that Svet was doing this on purpose. She knew she had Mickey wrapped around her finger.

She laughs. "You're arguing over a paper window," she says as if they had been joking around this whole time. Then much to Ian's and Mickey's surprise, Svetlana puts the scissors down and cups Mickey's cheeks, pulling him into a deep kiss.  
In that moment, Mickey really realized something.

He fucking hated his life.

Mickey let her do so though, knowing he practically had to. He let it last a few seconds before pulling away, resisting the urge to wipe his mouth on the back of his hand.

"It's okay, yes?" She says quietly, smiling.

Ian clears his throat awkwardly. "Uh... yeah don't worry about it, Ms-Mrs. Milkovich. I'm sure the windows will do just fine," he says, standing back up and walking over to another family.

"I need a smoke break," Mickey mumbles, getting up. Svetlana raises an eyebrow.

"Really? Or you just want to see orange boy?"

"Really," he says, pulling out his pack of cigarettes and walking down the hall and out the doors. Once outside he leans back against the building. It was dark outside by now, being winter it got dark fairly early. But Mickey didn't mind the dark or the cold. Anything was better than being in there.

He placed a cigarette between his lips and cupped it so that he could light it. He closes his eyes and tips his head down so that the light snow was now falling in his dark hair.

"You okay?" A voice called from the dark and Mickey jumped.

"Ian... don't fucking sneak up on me like that again," Mickey mumbles. He takes his cigarette out from between his lips and breaths smoke out through his nose.

"Sorry," Ian mumbles, walking over to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just needed a smoke break," Mickey lies. He holds the cigarette out for Ian and raises an eyebrow. "You smoke?"

Ian nods and takes it from him, placing it between his own lips. "Listen I'm... I'm sorry if I kind of fucked shit up between you two. Does she know?" He asks.

Mickey shrugs. "She thinks she knows but she doesn't know for sure. But that bitch is going to do anything possible to make sure she does find out," Mickey mumbles.

Ian nods as he takes a drag from the cigarette and hands it back. "It's cold, why don't we go back inside?"

Mickey shakes his head. "No, you go ahead. I'm gonna finish my cigarette in peace," he says.

"I'll ask this again cause you still haven't answered truthfully. You good?" Ian asks.

Mickey lets out a dry laugh. "You serious? What do you think? I'm fucking my son's kindergarten teacher behind my wife's back and not to mention, I don't even want a fucking wife. So yeah, I'm just peachy," he says bitterly.

"Fair point," Ian mumbles. Mickey looks over at him and laughs.

"You're damn right it is. I'd like to see you top my shitty situation with a shitty situation of your own."

"Oh, man. I don't think I can do that. Pretty sure having a wife while you're actually gay is the top situation on the shittiest life list," Ian teases.

Mickey grins and playfully hits his shoulder. "See that's the spirit. Sometimes you gotta embrace the shit in your life and make the best of it," Mickey shrugs.

Ian smiles a bit, cheeks turning a light pink from the cold. "Yeah, but sometimes even though it may stink, you have to dig your way out," Ian says.

Mickey nods, flicking his cigarette into the snow. "Maybe."

"Hey, you think tomorrow you could get away from your wife and hang? Maybe we could go out for drinks?"

Mickey raises an eyebrow. "You mean a date?"

Ian's eyes go wide. "No! No, I, uh, I just meant as friends."

Mickey laughs, feeling accomplished that he had made Ian flustered. "You got a place of your own? Maybe we could hang there."

"Still live with my siblings, but you could always come over. I mean I only live like a block away," he says.

Mickey nods. "Yeah, I could call you? Let you know when I can come over."

Ian nods and reaches into his pocket, pulling out an ink pen. He clicks it and holds Mickey's hand so that he could write his number on his arm. "There," Ian says.

"What're we in middle school? Could have just typed it into my phone."

Ian laughs. "My fingers are so numb right now, I don't even think I could type."

Mickey laughs too. "C'mon, firecrotch, lets go back in," Mickey says and the two of them walk back inside.


	5. Drunk and Drunker

When Mickey was a kid, he figured he'd be an astronaut or president by now. But instead, he was in the living room of his childhood home, tugging on the snow pants for his child.

"Come home before dark," svetlana tells them, but Mickey ignores her. He had said they were going to the park to sled down the hill but instead he was going to go to Ian's with Yev.

"Yeah, okay," he mumbles as he tugs on his own coat and wraps a scarf around his neck before walking out. It had been snowing all through the night. There was now a foot of snow and more on the way. Mickey held Yev's gloved hand as they walked down the street. "How about instead of the park, we go to Mr. Gallagher's instead?"

Yev shrugs. "I guess so. Can we still play in the snow though?" He asks.

Mickey nods. "Yeah, sure thing," he says as they turn down Ian's street. Yev nods, satisfied and holds onto his dad's hand, struggling to walk in the snow. "Walk on the sidewalk, Yev. You can barely stand up in the snow," Mickey says. Yev laughs.

"But if I stand in the snow, then I'm tall like you," he says, grinning. Mickey couldn't help but smile. He picks Yev up and sets him on his shoulders.

"There, now you're extra tall," he says. Yev grins and stays that way until they reach Ian's house. Mickey knocks on the door and waits. A young girl with red hair opens the door and stares up at him.

"Uh, is Ian home?" Mickey asks.

"Ian! Some guy is at the door for you!" She calls before disappearing back into the house. Mickey took that as an invitation to walk in.

"Hey," Ian says, walking over to them.

"Hey, hope you don't mind that I brought Yev," Mickey says, taking off his scarf and coat.

Ian shakes his head. "Not at all. My family's all home right now and we've got beer. But Liam, my little brother is upstairs if you want to go play with him," he says to Yev. Yev smiles and nods. "His room is up stairs and all the way at the end. Yevgeny hugs Mickey before running up the stairs to Liam's room.

"So, uh, your family's home?" He asks, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can leave if you want." Mickey felt incredibly awkward in this situation. To Mickey, Ian was just Yev's teacher and a guy he was hoping to occasionally hook up with. Nothing more. And meeting his family just felt too personal for Mickey.

"No, stay. We're having a little Gallagher party. Free beer, music, maybe even a blowjob if you stay long enough," he says, smirking.

Mickey rolls his eyes. "I'm staying for the beer, not for your horny ass," he mumbles. "Where's the beer at anyways?"

"Kitchen. I'll go get you one," Ian says and goes to the kitchen.

"Are you Mickey?" Someone asks and Mickey turns around, facing a woman a little older than him with brown hair.

"Uh, yeah, and you are?"

"I'm Fiona, Ian's sister," she says. "He's talked about you before."

"Oh? Hope it was all good," he jokes, smiling a bit. He rubbed the back of his neck and leaned against the wall.

"You've met Fi?" Ian says. He smiles and hands Mickey his beer.

Mickey nods, sipping it. "Uh, yeah. Told me you've been talking about me?" He says, raising an eyebrow. Just from that one hook up, Mickey was at risk of his secret getting out. As soon as Ian told his family, if he hadn't already, then they'd sure as hell tell others and soon enough Terry would find out too.

Ian nods. "Yeah, just about how yevgeny is going so well in my class. His reading level is above the other kids."

The small talk went on for what felt like forever and Mickey hated every second of it. He was never one for small talk, especially not with the family of the guy he hooked up with. So in order to fight his way through it all, Mickey drank beer after beer until he felt a good buzz going on. From what he had saw, Ian had only drank one beer but somehow he seemed more wasted than Mickey was.

"Hey," Ian whispers. He was leaning heavily on Mickey, his arm around his shoulders in order to hold himself up.

Mickey snorts. "Dude you're fucking wasted," he says, his own words a bit slurred. Hell, the only people not wasted were the kids. Everyone else was at least buzzed.

"So are you!" He says, laughing. Ian's face was flushed and he had discarded his flannel so that he just had a tank top left on.

"So? You're worse than me," he says then rests his hand against Ian's forehead. "Shit, man. You're burning up," he says.

"You know what we should do? We should go outside cause it's like super cold out there and there's snow everywhere," he says.

Mickey nods. "Grab your jacket then." He carefully pulls away from Ian and pulls on his own jacket and scarf. Him and Ian walk out the front door and outside. It was dark by now and if Mickey was sober enough, he'd be worrying about what Svetlana would say when he got home. But the only thing Mickey was worrying about right now was helping Ian cool off.

"Wow, it's snowing still," Ian says. He grins widely and walks off of the porch and into the snow. He tilts his head back and stares up at the snow like a little kid. "Come over here."

"Nah, I'm fine up here," Mickey says, leaning back against the railing. A small smile spread across his lips as he watched Ian. That was when he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out and looked down, but before he could read the text, an incoming snowball hit him in the head. "What the fuck!?" He yells, stuffing his phone into his pocket. He looks up at Ian and flips him off.

Ian laughs, hard enough that he holds his stomach and throws his head back. Mickey takes the opportunity to scoop snow off of the railing, form a ball with it and hurls it at Ian, hitting him in the chest. Mickey laughs and Ian playfully glares at him.

"This is war!" Ian yells as he makes another snowball and throws it at Mickey. The two of them hurl snow balls at each other until their finger tips are numb. After Ian throws one that hits Mickey in the face, Mickey charges off of the porch and tackles Ian into the snow, laughing as they both fall. "You're crushing me," Ian jokes.

Mickey grins and straddles Ian's hips, holding him down on the snow. "This is what your dumbass gets for starting this whole thing."

Ian grins and shrugs. "Well I'm not really complaining," he says. He reaches up and grabs Mickey's scarf. He pulls Mickey down, close enough that their lips are just barely touching. Mickey's eyes slip shut and he was just about to lean down all the way when snow was smashed against his face. Ian takes the moment of shock in order to take control and flip them over, this time him being on top.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you," Mickey mumbled. He tried to glare and keep a straight face but it didn't last long as his lips tugged up into a small smile. "You're lucky."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" He asks, smirking.

"Cause I could easily kick your ass but my kid really likes you so I won't."

"You mean, you really like me?" Ian asks, raising an eyebrow.

Mickey makes a face. "Fuck off and get the hell off of me before I knee you in the dick, fire crotch."

Ian chuckles softly as he climbs off of Mickey and helps him up. "It's late and you're drunk. Why don't you just sleep on the couch or something?"

Mickey shrugs. "What about Yev?"

"We've got room for both of you," Ian says as they walk inside. Yevgeny was already asleep on the couch, curled up under a blanket. Ian grabs Mickey by his coat and tugs him up the stairs to his room. "You can sleep on the floor," he whispers since Liam was already knocked out on his bed and Carl in his. Lip's bed was empty though.

Mickey nods and shrugs off his coat and scarf and Ian does the same. "C'mon the bed first," Ian whispers, grinning a bit.

"Why?" Mickey asks, raising an eyebrow as he kicks off his shoes.

"You're drunk, I'm obviously wasted, so normally by this point in the movies the two drunk guys would normally be having sex. Except it's never two guys. Normally a girl and a guy," he rambles drunkenly.

Mickey snorts as he climbs up onto the bed. "I've got a good idea. In order to shut your loud mouth up, how about you do something else with it other than talk?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

Ian grins and already starts to tug down his pants. "Fine. But you owe me one next time." He mumbles. He tugs Mickey's boxers down and kisses just above his cock. "Be quiet though if you don't want anyone to wake up," Ian mumbles before taking Mickey's tip into his mouth.

Mickey closes his eyes and tilts his head back. Ian picks up the pace and goes for a few minutes, that being all it took for Mickey. As Ian finished, he pulled off of Mickey and licked his lips. Ian climbs up his body until they were face to face and leans down to kiss Mickey deeply. Mickey places a hand on the back of his head and deepens the kiss.

"Now get the fuck off my bed so I can sleep," Ian mumbles as he sits back up.

"Damn, that's really how you wanna treat the guy you just blew?" Mickey teases.

"It is when I'm drunk and tired." Mickey rolls his eyes and tugs his boxers back up along with his jeans before climbing off of the bed. Ian tosses down a blanket and pillow for him and Mickey gets comfortable.

"Good night, fuckhead," Mickey mumbles.

"Night, asswhipe," Ian says back.


	6. The Aftermath

Mickey woke up to the sound of his phone going on and on and on. He groaned and rolled over, picking it up. "The fuck you want?" He mumbles, half asleep.

"Where are you!? I said home by dark. Not home by next day!"

Mickey shoots straight up. "Fuck... fuck I'm, uh, don't worry where I'm at. Comin' home now," he says before hanging up quickly. He looked around and quickly pulled his shirt on as his phone started to ring again.

"Turn that shit offfffff," Ian groans, throwing a pillow at Mickey.

"I have to get the fuck home now. Svet's pissed at me." Mickey, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, was terrified. He knew he screwed up. He shouldn't have drank so much or even came over to Ian's in the first place. Especially not with Yev. The kid was the kindest, sweetest boy ever, but he could never keep a secret.

"Shit what are you gonna tell her?" Ian asks, sitting up.

Mickey shrugs. "I've got no fucking clue. No mater what I tell her, she's not gonna believe me," he said. He slipped into his boots as his phone started to ring again. "What!?" He yells into it.

"Where the fuck are you?!" Svetlana yells back. "Terry is here. I tell him everything."

"Don't you fuckin' dare. Svetlana I swear to -"

"You won't do shit. You're just little boy who's scared of father," she says, knowing she had the upper hand. And she was right. Mickey wasn't going to do anything to her because it would just look bad on his part. He was about to get his ass kicked and he knew it. Mickey was no match against Svetlana and Terry.

"Just... I'll be home in a few minutes. Don't fucking say a word," he says before hanging up.

Ian stares at him. "You, uh, are you okay?" He asks awkwardly. The answer was no. Ian knew that without even asking. But he felt like there was something else he didn't know. He knew Svetlana would be mad, that was obvious but Mickey seemed on edge about something and he wanted to know what it was.

"Am I okay?" Mickey snorts. "Yeah, I'm fuckin' fantastic."

"That was a dumbass question I know... Do you want Yev to stay here? While you and your wife talk?" Ian asks, wanting to help.

Mickey nods. "Yeah, actually keep him here and call my sister, Mandy," he says. He grabs a pen from the nightstand and writes down her number on a magazine. "There. Now just give her your address and she'll get Yev from you."

Before Ian could answer, Mickey was leaving the room and then the house. His heart was thumping rapidly and he shivered, finally noticing he had forgotten his jacket. Snow fell and landed in his hair as Mickey wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to warm up. But as of right now, freezing to death on the side walk seemed like a better option then having his ass kicked once again by his father. He was just praying that Svetlana had changed her mind and hadn't told terry yet. Mickey knew it was only a slim chance but he was holding onto any hope that he could get.

He walked up the steps to his house, took in a deep breath and walked in. Terry was on the couch, watching tv and Mickey could already feel Svetlana's eyes on him from the kitchen. She jerked her head towards their bedroom before walking in. Mickey, taking one more glance at Terry, followed her in and shut the door.

"I tell you no boys or I tell Terry and what do you do? You go over to orange boy's house," she says angrily, arms waving around as she talked.

"I didn't go over to Ian's," he whispers harshly. "I went over to Mandy's. Yev is there right now if you want to fuckin' call her."

Svetlana stares at her husband, obviously not believing a single word that was coming out of his mouth. "You lie. I wasn't going to tell terry but now I am. You're pussy afraid of father so maybe this will help you learn," she says before making her way to the door. Mickey grabs her by the arm and holds her tightly.

"Don't you say a single word about this or I swear to god you'll regret it," he mumbles angrily.

Svetlana just laughs and yanks her arm away. "You think you scare me? No. I'm in control here. I know your fears and one of them is having daddy find out he didn't get all the fag fucked from you," she says and leaves the room. Mickey stayed there, sitting down on his bed and holding his head in his hands. He was fucked. If he died right now, Mandy would have to take care of Yev. Mickey didn't trust Svetlana and didn't want Yev to be kept in this household. He wanted his son to have a better childhood than he had ever had. But Yev put aside, Mickey would rather be dead than face the wrath of his dad being the "fag" from him once more.

It only took a few minutes before Terry pushed open the door so harshly it slammed against the back wall. "You hit your wife!?" He yells. Mickey stared at him, surprised by what he was accusing him of. He was confused.

"I didn't lay a fucking finger on her."

Svetlana then walks up behind terry. She had put make up around one of her eyes so it looked black and blue and she had tears streaming down her face. "You fucking bitch," Mickey says. "I didn't fucking hit her! She's a lying whore!"

Terry didn't even say anything back. Instead, he grabbed Mickey by the throat, picked him up and slammed him against the wall. "I thought I raised you right! You don't hit women unless they fucking deserve it. And she didn't do shit," he grumbled before his fist comes down and slams into Mickey's face multiple times. Finally, Mickey's able to grab onto Terry's shirt and attempts to push him off, but he couldn't. So he brings his foot up and kicks Terry hard, right in the crotch. "You fucker," he wheezes out. He grabs at his junk and leans against the wall. "I'll fuckin'.... I'll fuckin' kill you."

Mickey clenched his jaw and serves a hard punch right to his stomach. "Fuck you," he says and then turns to Svetlana. "And fuck you too! You get off on watching me get the shit kicked outta me!? Good role model for your son," he says sarcastically before leaving the house.

Mickey walks down the street, wiping a trail of blood from his lip as he calls Mandy. She answers almost immediately. "Mickey? Are you okay? What's going on?" She asks frantically.

Mickey sighs. "Everything's fine. Svetlana and I just got into a fight and I didn't want Yev to hear us."

"Okay.... but why was Yev over at his teacher's house?" She questions.

Mickey stays quiet on the other line for a few moments. He had never told Mandy about his sexuality before but maybe he could today. She'd be supportive.... maybe. Mickey wasn't sure and that was what terrified him. He didn't want to lose Mandy over something as stupid as liking guys. But he knew if she did support him, she'd help Mickey out with everything that was going on. "I'll explain when I get there." He hangs up before Mandy could say anything else and continued his walk. He pops a cigarette between his lips, cupping his hand around it while he lights it. He takes a drag and lets out an exaggerated sigh. His tatted finger comes up and gently touched his eye, feeling the wound. It was already black and blue, a small cut under his eye. He knew Mandy would immediately say shit about it, but there was nothing he could do.

He flicked his cigarette into the snow as he climbed the steps up to Mandy's house. Without knocking, he steps inside and stomps the snow off of his boots. "Mandy? Yevvy?" He calls. Seconds later, Mickey hears Yev running down the hall.

"Daddyyyy!" He yells, hugging him tightly. "Why did you leave me?"

"I'm sorry, buddy. I had to help mom with something at the house." He says, picking Yev up.

"Your eyeball is hurt," he says. He reaches forward and pokes the bruise, making Mickey wince.

"Hey, why don't you go in the living room while I talk with aunt Mandy. We can head out and get some breakfast after, okay?" Yev nods, smiling. Mickey sets him down and the little boy runs to the couch.

Mickey walks to Mandy's room and knocks on the door. "Come in!" Mandy calls. Mickey walks in and sits down on her bed. Mandy sits down next to him. "Jesus, Mick, the hell happened to your eye?" She asks. He just shakes his head.

"Nothing, don't worry."

"You said you'd explain when you got here and you're here, so talk," she argues. She worried about her brother. Ever since she moved out with her boyfriend Mickey had been alone with Terry and Svet and Mandy knew how Terry got sometimes. She tried to convince Mickey to move in with her but he was stubborn and didn't listen.

"What do you think happened? Terry got pissed like he always does and took it out on me, just like he always does," he mumbles. Mickey looked away from her and laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Then what the hell was Yevgeny doing at his teacher's house and why the fuck did you sound so terrified on the phone? I know for damn sure that there's something you're not telling me and I wanna know what it is. Mick you... you need to talk to me if something is going on."

Mickey stayed silent for a few seconds before he glanced up at her. "You don't... you won't get it, Mandy. It's just a lot of shit that you don't know about." And a lot of shit he didn't want to tell her about. Him and his sister had always been closer than his relationship with his brothers and he didn't want to ruin it. Not know after all these years.

"Try me. Fucking tell me what's going on and I bet I'll understand it. I'm not a damn kid, Mickey. I'm an adult, hell I'm your sister. I deserve to know what the hell is going on in that house.

Mickey bites his lip, his eyes glancing back up to the ceiling. "It's obvious... that I don't love my wife. I know you know it and so does everyone else. But no one gets it. No one gets the fact that I can't just take my kid and leave her. Get the fuck outta here," he whispers. He could stop there. Make up some bullshit story about owing drug money or something else and that was why he couldn't leave her. That he needed her for the money aspect but he knew Mandy wouldn't believe him. The only way she would was if he was telling the truth. "Terry, this whole fucking thing is his fault. It's his fault that I gotta stay in that God damn house. His fault I married svet. Hell, I love Yev more than anything in this world but fucking Terry is the reason why he was ever born."

Mandy frowns. She lays down on her side and faces Mickey. "What are you talking about? His fault you married svet? And how the hell is he responsible for Yev's birth?" She asks, completely lost. Mandy had no clue what Mickey was talking about. She honestly thought he was high or something from the shit he was saying.

"I don't like Svet. I don't even.... I don't even like girls," he whispers, almost too quiet to hear.

Mandy's eyes widen a bit. "Mick are you... are you gay?" She asks quietly. Mickey turns his head, looking away from her and nods.

"Yeah... I've known I was gay since fucking middle school but growing up south side and with Terry, no way in hell was I telling anyone."

"Jesus, Mick," she says, carding a hand through his hair. "I don't give a fuck if you like taking it up the ass. I couldn't care less. I just don't get how all of this with Svetlana happened then," she says.

Mickey sighs. He really didn't want to tell this story to his sister because he was embarrassed about it. The whole situation was embarrassing but he knew she wouldn't judge him. "I hooked up with a guy just one time cause I thought it would get it outta my system or whatever. But holy fuck do I regret doing that now," he says, letting out a weak laugh. "I was in my room with the boy and dad walked in. I've never seen him so pissed off before in my life. The boys name was Marcus, asshole snuck out while Terry was beating me. Didn't even get a single punch thrown at him, but he left me all for Terry and he went crazy. Kept hitting me and hitting me and I tried to fight back but... he pulled a gun on me. Fucker pistol whipped me and I just... I thought I was on the verge of dying or some shit. I thought he was gonna shoot me. Everything was dizzy and I was about to pass out. And that was when I heard him call up someone. Something about getting the faggot fucked outta me. And Svet came and we... we fucked while he watching, gun pointed at me the whole damn time."

He told the story in a soft, almost broken voice. He wanted to just cry, mostly tears of anger because if he had never of hooked up that day his life could have been different. Maybe he wouldn't have been scared 24/7 like he was now. But he was going to make damn sure Mandy didn't see him cry.

"Mickey that's... that's rape," she whispers. "Fucking hell if I would have known that, I would have killed him and had Iggy and Colin help me." She pulls Mickey into a hug but Mickey shrugs her off. Mandy knew Mickey didn't want to be pitied or babied or anything so Mandy didn't try to touch him again. "Listen that's fucked up, we both know that and now we have to do something about it. You can get outta that house. It shouldn't be hard for us to figure out a way to get him in prison again. I can call up Iggy and Colin to help," she says.

Mickey smiles a bit and glances at her. "Thanks, Mandy but I'm fine. I can handle this shit on my own."

"Obviously not if you're still married and in that house. You deserve to be happy. When I was with Kenyatta I thought that was it for me. That that was the best I'd ever get so I stayed with him. But the second I got out, it immediately got better. I'm telling you, Mick. You're not going to be able to live in that house for much longer."

Mickey stays quiet. He knew she was right. He wanted out and as soon as possible but he didn't know how to explain this to Yev. Truth was, he was just scared to take that first step, but Mandy was right. He needed out. "Yev was at his teacher's cause we're screwing around," he says, trying to lighten the mood.

Mandy snorts. "You're fucking red head? Lucky shit," she says, playfully punching his arm.

Mickey laughs. "It's the other way around, but yeah. We are."

Mandy laughs. "I don't even wanna know how that started. I mean he's your son's kindergarten teacher! What did you do? Walk up to him and say your finger paintings are nice, wanna fuck?"

Mickey laughed. It was nice finally having at least someone who he could talk to about this shit. He hated keeping it bottled up all the time but this right here, this was what he needed.


	7. I Shot the Pimp But I Didn't Shoot the Deputy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I accidentally deleted this chapter and so I'm just gonna casually repost it lmfao

They drove in silence the next morning to Yev's school. Mickey didn't want to talk and Yev knew not to ask. He was smarter by now and there was an unwritten rule between the two. Never ask daddy about the knew bruises or cuts on his body because by now Yev already knew where they came from.

"You'd never do that to me... would you?" The little boy whispers.

Mickey looks at him through the mirror. "Do what?" He asks, glancing back to the road.

"Hit me. Like grandpa does to you. You wouldn't do that to me, right?"

"Yevgeny, I get pissed off a lot, but I'd never hit you. We don't take after grandpa. He's an asshole and we don't want to be like him, okay?"

Yev nods. "I know. I'm just making sure because you said we're supposed to do what our daddy tells us and listen to him and grandpa is always mean and yells and I don't want you to be that way."

Mickey pulls into the school parking lot and parks their beaten up car. "Don't worry about grandpa, yevvy," he says. He gets out of the car and Yev follows him, grabbing Mickey's hand.

"Grandpa is an asshole," he says, nodding.

Mickey laughs and looks down at him. "Damn right he is," Mickey agrees. The two of them walk inside and as usual, Yev waves at all of the passing janitors. They get to Mr. Gallagher's kindergarten class and walk in. Ian smiles at them but his small falters when he sees Mickey's face.

"Hi, Mr. Gallagher!" Yev says excitedly, waving at him. Ian glances down at Yev and smiles.

"Hey, buddy. Class is just about to start. So why don't you hang your stuff up and take your seat? We're gonna be coloring today."

Yev grins excitedly and nods. He hugs Mickey tightly. "Bye, daddy. I love you," he says before running off to join the class. Ian stays there, his attention now back on Mickey.

"Can we talk?" He asks and Mickey immediately shakes his head.

"No, I'm running late for work," he says, turning to leave. Ian reaches forward and grabs his wrist. "It'll only take a second."

Mickey yanks his hand back and glares at him. "In the hallway," he says. Ian nods. He follows Mickey out to the hall and closes the door behind them. His eyes begin to examine his face. He had one bruised eye, a cut up lip and another cut on his eyebrow. His cheek was bruised and overall, he just looked exhausted.

"Mickey what the hell happened when you left?" He asks. He reaches a hand forward to touch Mickey's bruised face but the other man jerks his head back.

"Don't worry about what happened to me. I'm fine."

"Obviously not. You look like you've been beaten with a brick, yesterday you seemed more terrified than what you were showing. What else is going on that you aren't telling me?"

Mickey scoffs. "You don't have any fucking right to know about my personal life. What happens in my house is my fucking problem not yours."

"Mick, I care about you. That's why I'm asking you. I wanna help with whatever it is."

"Yeah, well I don't care about you. You're just a good fuck for me. You get that right? I don't know if you think we're boyfriend and girlfriend here but we're not. You're nothing but a warm mouth to me," he mutters. He still had left over rage from yesterday's fight with Terry and Mickey needed to get it out and poor Ian just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Ian takes a step back from him. Sure they had only known each other for a few weeks but Ian thought Mickey as more than just a good fuck. He liked him, cared about him. Obviously the feeling wasn't mutual. "Fuck you, Mickey. Yeah we fuck around most of the time but I actually kinda liked you. I thought there was more to you other than being a fucking dick but obviously I was wrong. Just go, Mick. Sorry I tried to help you," he mutters angrily before going back into his classroom.

Mickey lets out a heavy sigh. "Fuck you," he says under his breath before turning and walking to the exit.   
_____________________________________

Mickey wanted to spend the rest of his day on the couch drinking beers, but he had only gotten an hour of it when his phone buzzed.  He lets out a groan and picks it up, looking at screen. "Asshole who got handjob doesn't have money" ~ Svetlana.

Mickey sighs and sits up on the couch. "Then handle it yourself."

She almost immediately replies back. "Get here now"

"Fucking bitch," he mumbled under his breath. "Can't do anything on her own." He slips his shoes on and grabs a hand gun off of the table, tucking it into the waistband of his pants before walking out of the house.

He arrived at the rug and tug, which was just a small building with a few rooms with just enough space for a bed. The first thing he heard was yelling. He pulls the gun out of his waistband and walks toward the sound.

"Back the fuck up!" The man yells, pointing a gun at a couple of the "whores"

Mickey creeps up behind him quietly and presses the gun to his head. "Drop the fucking gun or I blow your brains out," he mutters. The man freezes. He turns his head slightly to look at Mickey.

"Let me go.... they want my money. Shoot them," the man says. It was obvious he was on something, Mickey just didn't know what.

"Yeah well if you have one of'em whores suck you off or something you gotta pay. That's how this fucking works, dumbass."

The man quickly turns around, knocking the gun from Mickey's hand and aims his gun to Mickey's shin, pulling the trigger. The boom echoes around the room as Mickey falls onto his back. "You fucker!" He yells as the man runs from the building. The bullet went straight through his leg and left behind a hole in his jeans along with his skin. He sits up a bit and presses his hand down on top of it. "Don't just fucking stand there," he mutters to Svetlana. "Help me."

"No," she says bluntly. "You no help me, I don't help you." Mickey stares at her, eyes in disbelieve.

"Didn't - I did just fucking help you! I took a bullet to the fucking leg!" Svetlana wasn't even listening. She was still pissed at Mickey for the whole Ian situation that she didn't care if her husband was laying there, bleeding. Svetlana, along with the other women all left. None of them were to fond of Mickey who was rude and ignorant. Sure he didn't hit them or treat them horribly, but they still hated him.

He knew Mandy was at work which was too far away and his only other option was to call Ian. "Mother fucker," he breathed under his breath as he dialed Ian's phone number. The first time, Ian didn't pick up and Mickey cursed under his breath, so he called again.

"Mickey, I'm at work! What the fuck do you want?" He whispers harshly.

"Listen yeah I was a dick earlier and you probably hate me, but I got fucking shot in the leg and I need a ride home."

Ian laughs bitterly. "Mickey that's not even funny."

"Ian, I'm being fucking serious. I'm sending you the address right now," he says. He hangs up on Ian and sends him the address before laying on his back. His pants were now soaked with blood on the one leg and Mickey felt faint from the blood loss. His only hope was that Ian would come.

Time seemed to pass by so much slower. Mickey laid there, blood oozing from his wound and still no one showed up. If Ian didn't show in a few more minutes Mickey knew he'd be forced to call for an ambulance. As if by miracle, he heard the door being pushed open and feet running down the hall. "Holy fuck," Ian says as he sees Mickey. He hurried over to him and bends down. "Mickey... fuck this is bad. You need to go to the hospital!"

He immediately shakes his head. "Can't. Unless you want them to fucking arrest me for prostitution. Now help me the fuck up and back to my place," he grumbles, wincing in pain as he tries to sit up. Ian nods and gently lifts Mickey up bridal style. In any other situation, Mickey would be complaining but now was not the time. Ian hurried Mickey to his car and laid him in the back seat before racing back to his house. "I did some EMT work before," Ian says, helping him out of the back seat. He carries Mickey inside of his house and lays him down carefully on the kitchen table. "Where's your medical kit and shit?"

"I don't fucking know! Look in the bathroom!"

The process was long and painful. Ian used floss to stitch Mickey back up and Mickey went through a whole bottle of whiskey just to keep from crying in pain. But Ian had finished by now. Mickey was changed out of his bloody clothes and now in his sweatpants instead. His eyes felt heavy and he was half asleep on his bed, Ian sitting on the side. "Thanks," Mickey mumbles. "I really fucking owe you."

Ian snorts. "You don't say. After pretty much telling me you don't give a shit if I'm around anymore, I save your life."

Mickey lets out a weak laugh. "You didn't save my life. I woulda been fine if you don't show up.... but thanks. Really, Ian."

Ian smiles a bit and looks down at him. "You're still an asshole."

Mickey rolls his eyes. "I didn't mean it."

"Mean what?"

"That shit I said earlier today. About the warm mouth shit. I really like you.... and not just as a fuck buddy."

"You mean as a boyfriend?" Ian teases.

"Don't push your luck," he says. He kicks his good leg out at Ian and hits him gently in the side. "Here I am, fucking pouring my heart out to you and you're joking around. Who's the asshole now?"

Ian laughs. He bends down and kisses Mickey gently on the lips, running a hand through the older man's hair. "Thanks, Mickey," he says. "Listen, Yev's play is tomorrow and I'm putting you on bed rest so those stitches don't tear. I was thinking I could FaceTime you during it? That way you could watch the play," he offers.

Mickey grins and nods. "Yeah, that would be great. Just make sure Svet doesn't see you," he says as Ian stands up.

"Don't worry. I'll see you later, mick."

"See ya, fire crotch," Mickey calls back as Ian leaves.


	8. Noah's Ark

"I win!" Yev says excitedly, grinning. Mickey had been up since four am and Yev had joined him around five. Last night when Yev got home and saw Mickey, he freaked out. The little boy started to cry and cling to his dad. "Are you going to die?" He had asked and Mickey had assured him he was okay. That night, Yev practically begged svetlana to set up the tv and wii in Mickey's room so that him and Yev could play it together. He didn't want to leave his dad and svetlana had to yell at him multiple times to go shower before he finally did.

Mickey smiles. "That's only because you cheated," he teases. Yev giggles.

"No I didn't! You cant cheat in Mario Kart!"

"Whatever you say.... cheater," he says, kissing the top of Yev's head. "Now go get ready for school. It's almost eight o'clock."

Yev groans. He had been excited for the play ever since he found out about it. He got to dress up as a tiger, his favorite animal. But that wasn't even the part he was looking forward to the most. The thing Yevgeny was most excited for, was the fact that his dad would be watching, but now he couldn't. Mickey wasn't able to get out of his bed for a couple days and he hated it. "But I don't even wanna go to the play now. You're not even gonna be there," he says, pouting.

"Yevgeny, what have I told you about pouting?" Mickey asks, raising an eyebrow. Yev stares back, raising his own eyebrow.

"And what have you told me? You told me you'd see me play the tiger but now you can't because you're stuck in bed. I don't even wanna do the play anymore."

Mickey sighs and sets the wii remote on the nightstand next to him. "Listen, Yev, I told you last night why I couldn't come. I can't leave my bed for a few days but I promise I'll make it up to you.... how about during winter break, we go to the zoo? We can look at all the animals and Christmas lights." Yev tried his hardest to still appear upset but he couldn't do it. A small smile appeared on the little boy's face.

"Fineee, but I'm still a little bit mad," he grumbles, standing up. Mickey chuckles softly.

"Go get ready, Yev. I'll see you after school and this time, I'm going to kick your ass in Mario kart," he says. Yev giggles a bit and leaves the room, going to get ready. Once the boy leaves, Mickey pulls out his phone. Last night, before Ian had left, he had forced Mickey to get snapchat. Before Ian, he had no idea what the hell it was. But Ian had helped him set up an account helping him pick the username "casperslovechild" Mickey had protested the name but Ian had promised no one but him could see it. And if Mickey ever found out Ian had lied to him, Mickey would be pissed.

He unlocks his phone and grins when he sees a snapchat of Ian's. He was sitting in his desk chair at school and had on a beard and put the caption "came in early to start setting up the play but I've just been playing with the props the whole time instead" Mickey laughs a bit. He sends a photo back one of himself with his bed head and tired eyes with the caption. "You're a fucking dork." He sends the text before putting his phone down. "Mandy!" He yells. His sister had came last night as soon as she found out what happened to Mickey. She had told them that she'd be staying so that she could help out with Mickey while he was in bed rest.

"What's up?" She asks, walking in the room.

He picks up his empty glass and holds it out to her. "Orange juice and pain killers?"

She laughs and nods, grabbing the glass. She comes back a few moments later and hands the pills and glass to Mickey. "Breakfast for champs," she teases, sitting on the edge of the bed. "How're you feeling?"

He shrugs, taking the pills. "Sore. Can't move it at all without it fucking hurting. But it's getting better I guess," he mumbles, letting out a tired yawn. He had to lay on his back, facing straight up since he couldn't move his leg and it had totally screwed up his sleep. She nods.

"Listen, I couldn't get off work because some asshole wouldn't cover my shift today. So I'm gone from two to nine tonight. But call me if you need me, okay? I'll take any excuse to get the fuck outta my job."

Mickey snorts and nods. "Thanks, mandy," he says. "I'm sure I'll be fine. Probably gonna be knocked the fuck out for most of the day with all the pills." She nods and kisses her brothers forehead gently before leaving the room.

Mickey was right when he said he'd be asleep most of the day. Around one pm he woke up to the sound of his ringtone. Mickey groans and reaches for his phone without opening his eyes. "The fuck you want?" He grumbles.

"Mickey? Hey, did I wake you?" Ian asks from the other line. Mickey grins a bit and cracks his eyes open.

"Yeah, but it's fine. What's up?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering... do you like Chinese food?" Ian asks.

"Yeah, why?"

"After the play I thought I'd bring some over for us. The kids are all staying after for pizza and games which means your wife will be out and you'll be all mine," he teases. Mickey chuckles.

"You fuckin' dork. Just make sure you text me or call before you come in, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Ian says, grinning a bit against the phone. "I'll see you tonight then. See you later, mick."

Mickey smiles and nods. "Yeah, see you later firecrotch," he says before hanging up.

Mickey couldn't hope but grin like an idiot after he hung up since last night, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about Gallagher. About the freckles there dusted his skin or the goofy smile he got whenever Mickey would insult him because they both knew he was only messing around. But what he thought about most was how Ian cared about him. No one ever seemed to care for Mickey the way Ian did. Sure Mickey wasn't willing to open up to the guy, but Ian was always there offering his help or advice and as much as Mickey grins pretended he hated it, he actually loved it. Craved it even. It was something new to him. Something that terrified him and excited him all at once. Ian treated him in a way that no one else ever had and Mickey didn't want to lose something as special as that. It would break him if he did.

Mickey made sure he stayed awake after the call, not wanting to miss Ian's FaceTime call for Yev's play. Sure enough, five o'clock rolled around and his phone started to buzz. Mickey sat up in his bed and grinned, answering the phone. As soon as he answered, Ian's wide grin appeared on his screen. "Front row seats to the hottest play in town. The only thing that would make it hotter is you," Ian teases, laughing at his own joke.

Mickey rolls his eyes. "It start yet?" Ian shakes his head. He flips the camera around so that Mickey could see the stage. The opening scene was a simple one. It appeared to be an open field, grass colored green with crayons and trees that had been cut out by kindergarteners littered the stage. Mickey smiles a bit. "I can't believe I'm fucking missing this, man. I practically killed the kid when I said I couldn't go," Mickey says, letting out a heavy sigh.

Ian flips the camera around and shakes his head. "Mick, you're fine. I talked to Yev before the play. I told him you couldn't come and I think he gets it now. Your wife is another story."

Mickey raises an eyebrow. "You talked to Svet?"

Ian's shrugs. "More like she talked to me. Asked if I was the one that patched you up and everything. I, uh... I kinda told her it was me. I mean at first I tried to lie but she'd make a damn good detective. Fucking sniffed out my lie right away."

Mickey sighs and nods. She hadn't brought it up to him yet so he was hoping she wouldn't say anything about it and brush it off. "Nothing you really coulda told her I guess," he mumbles. Ian smiles a bit.

"I'll shut up now. Plays about to start," he says, flipping the camera around. Ian was quiet as the play began and Mickey smiled as he watched. As soon as Yev came on stage Mickey grinned wider. He had on a onesie that was supposed to resemble a tiger and he had his mane around his head. He looks out to the audience and waves at Svetlana, Svetlana waving back. As the play went on, Ian would whisper little things to Mickey here and there, making the other man laugh. There was an intermission about half way through. It wasn't a long play at all but it gave the kids time to use the restroom or talk to their parents. "So how're you liking it?"

Mickey shrugs. "Eh, kinda seems like whoever set this whole thing up didn't really know what he was doing, he teases. Ian laughs.

"You're a dick. I bet you couldn't have put this better than I did."

Mickey chuckles. "You're probably right. I had to do a play in fourth grade. No one but mandy showed up and I was pissed. So I pretended to forget my lines and pretty much told the whole audience to go fuck themselves. It was pretty great." Ian couldn't help the loud laugh that escaped his lips and Mickey loved it. He loved that he could make Ian happy like this.

"You're not being serious, are you? Wait.... my fucking brother was in that play. Yeah, I kinda remember that now. I came with my siblings and I vaguely remember that. I guess nothing has changed, huh? A dick then and a dick now." Mickey flips him off. "Alright, alright. The plays about to start up again," Ian tells him.

"Wait," Mickey says quickly, knowing he was gonna flip the camera around. He looked just past Ian and two rows behind him. He lets out a small snort. "I can fucking see Svetlana in the back. Dude she's watching me right now," he whispers. After the bitch had just left him there to bleed, Mickey didn't give a shit about what she said or did anymore. He was gonna continue doing everything that she wanted him to stop.

"Shit, you want me to end the call?" Ian asks. Mickey shakes his head.

"Nah, man. Kinda funny honestly," he says, grinning a bit. Ian laughs.

"Whatever. If you get in trouble with your wife it's not my fault," he says, flipping the camera back around.

"Oh but it kinda is though. Because you're the dude that's calling me."

Mickey could hear Ian laugh but he doesn't say anything as the play starts back up, the kids taking their places. As they walk on stage one kid steps on Yev's tail, making him stumble. The boy turns around and glares. "Watch where you fucking going," Yev grumbles, facing the front again. A few of the parents gasp as a couple other laugh. Mickey was one of the ones laughing.

"That's my boy!" He says through the phone, causing Ian to laugh.

"Just like his dad, both love cussing from a young age," Ian teased. Finally, after the bickering is over the play begins. The lights dim and the boy playing Noah starts to say the few words that he had.

Afterwards, Ian had left the gym as soon as possible, picking up some take out from a small Chinese restaurant and drove to Mickey's house.

Ian [7:18] : I'm here  
Mickey [7:18] : doors unlocked

Ian grins a bit. He turns his car off and walks up the steps to the Milkovich household. He walks to Mickey's room and grins. "You're kidding me. You play this fucking game?" Ian asks, chuckling. He gently sits down on the bed and opens up the take out bag. He glances over at Mickey who was too focused on Mario Kart to even reply. He rolls his eyes and grabs the box of noodles, handling it over to Mickey. "I didn't know what you liked so I kinda just guessed."

A few seconds later Mickey sets down the controller and grabs the box. He looked like a hot mess. His hair was a mess, a large black sweatshirt hung loosely around him and he was in a pair of grey sweats, the side of his wounded leg rolled up to reveal his stitched wrapped up shin. Mickey grins. "It's perfect. Thanks," he says, opening the box.

Ian nods. "No problem." He leans back on the bed next to Mickey, smiling over at him. Mickey takes a big bite of noodles before glancing at Ian.

"The fuck are you looking at?" He mumbles, noodles hanging from his lips.

Ian laughs. "I just can't believe you were playing fucking Mario Kart."

Mickey glares at him and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "Whatever. It's just a fucking game that I happen to like."

"Bet I could kick your ass in this," Ian challenges.

"Bullshit. I'm a fucking pro at this game, man. I've been playing all day," he says.

Ian smirks and shrugs. "Alright fine. Lets make a bet. If I win, you buy me dinner next time."

Mickey grins. "Okay, and if I win, you gotta blow me," he says. Ian chuckles softly and nods.

"Deal."

They both set down their food and Mickey hands Ian a remote. Mickey starts up the game. "Ready to get your ass kicked?"

"We'll see about that, mick," he mumbles as the game starts. The both of them race, Ian ahead of Mickey by just a bit until Ian throws a banana to wipe Ian out. The two of them go back and forth, neck and neck until the very end where Mickey wins by less than a second. "Son of a bitch," he mumbles.

Mickey chuckles. "Looks like someone's sucking some dick tonight," he teases. Ian glares at him.

"You're lucky you're hot and injured," he grumbles. He tosses the remote to the side before getting on his knees in front of Mickey. "Don't wanna hurt you though."

"Ian, I'm on so many fucking painkillers right now I'm practically numb. You don't gotta worry about hurting me," he says. Ian nods. He gently pulls Mickey's pants down so that they were around his knees and palms Mickey through his boxers. the older man lets out a small grunt and rests his arms behind his head. Ian leans forward and kisses Mickey deeply, being careful not to hurt him anymore. Ian slips his tongue into the other man's mouth, his free hand coming up to cup Mickey's face. Mickey moans into Ian's mouth, bucking his hips up into Ian's hand. He grins and pulls back, pulling his hand back. He sits back on his knees and pulls the older man's boxers down to his knees. Ian leans forward, looking up at Mickey as he takes his tip into his mouth. Ian looked up at Mickey as his tongue ran from the base of his cock up to the top, grinning a bit. He gently placed his hands on Mickey's hips, taking his tip into his mouth. Mickey lets out a small hum. "That's it.... just like that," Mickey mumbles, looking down at Ian.  Mickey couldn't tear his eyes away from Ian. The way he looked with his mouth around his cock was almost enough to make Mickey cum on the spot. His cheeks were slightly hallowed out as he sucked and his skin was flushed. He reaches a hand down and runs it through the orange locks. He grips the man's hair gently and bucks his hips up into Ian's mouth. Ian grunts but doesn't pull off. He takes one hand off of Mickey's hip and runs it up and down the inside of his thigh as he takes in more of his length. Ian pulls off and jerks Mickey a couple of times, sucking at his tip instead. "You like that?" Ian teases, smirking a bit. Mickey was already panting softly, his soft blue eyes glossed over with lust.

"Yeah... fuck Gallagher," he mumbles as a bit of precum leaks out onto Ian's tongue.

"Wanna fuck you." Ian felt his own erection aching against the fabric of his jeans.

Mickey nods frantically. "Yeah," he agrees. Ian nods. He pulls his shirt over his head before leaning down to sack on Mickey's neck. His teeth drag along his sensitive skin, causing him to shiver under the touch. "Still don't wanna hurt you though," Ian mumbles. "Tell me what position will be easiest for you."

Mickey lets out a soft moan under the touch. "On my back. Should be fine like that," he mumbles, pulling Ian down by the back of his neck. He kisses him deeply, eyes slipping shut. The way Ian made Mickey feel, he couldn't even explain it to himself. With their lips locked like this, Mickey knew that he'd do anything for Ian. No matter what. He had never felt so much passion for one person. All of his other flings with guys meant nothing to him. But Ian, he was different. Mickey knew they were something more than just fuck buddies.

Ian pulls back and Mickey pulls his shirt off, tossing it to the ground below. Once Ian is completely naked, he helps Mickey. "I got it," Mickey protests but Ian ignores him. He gently pulls his sweatpants off along with his boxers, causing Mickey to grunt softly.

"You okay?" Ian asks softly.

"M'fine," he says. He reaches into the nightstand next to them and pulls out the lube, tossing it to Ian. He opens it and chuckles a bit.

"Fucking flavored lube?" He asks, holding it up. Mickey shrugs.

"What? It was the first thing I saw." He mumbles back. Ian squirts a bit of the lube onto one of his fingers and teases Mickey's hole with his finger. He unconsciously spreads his legs wider for Ian. Ian leans down and places a couple of kisses between Mickey's thighs, causing him to shiver at every touch. His kisses trailed up, leaving small bruises along his body until he made his way to the man's lips. He tugs on Mickey's lip gently as his finger slips in. Mickey moans, eyes fluttering open. Ian pulls back and grins at him. He pecks his lips one more time before trailing kisses over his jaw then his neck, sucking a dark hickey in the side of his neck. Mickey drapes a arm around the back of Ian's neck, using it as leverage so he could thrust back against Ian's finger. As Mickey gets adjusted to the finger, Ian slips in another one, scissoring him and twisting his fingers around. Mickey lets out a grunt as a bit more of precum leaks out into his stomach. "Such a good boy," Ian whispers, placing his forehead against Mickey's. Mickey lets out a small moan at the praise. He hated to admit it, but he loved getting praised during sex. It made him feel like he was doing things right. Even if it was just in bed Mickey loved to hear he was doing something right and making the other person feel good too.

"Ian... please," Mickey breaths out. Ian knew exactly what Mickey wanted. As soon as his finger started to slide in and out with ease, he added a third one. Mickey grunts gently, a hand gripping the bedsheets as the other one got tangled up in Ian's hair. Ian grins at him. He leans down and places a few kisses along his stomach, making his way up to his nipple. He kisses next to it gently before grazing his lips over it, causing Mickey to shiver. Ian grins at the response before sucking on it gently, pulling a moan out of the older man. Ian thrusts his fingers quicker inside of him, sucking a hickey next to Mickey's nipple. "Fuck. Just get in me already."

Ian chuckles. "So impatient," he teases, pulling his fingers out. He grabs the condom and tears it open with his teeth before rolling it onto his length. He squirts some more lube into his fingers and runs it over his cock and in Mickey's hole. He leans forward and kisses Mickey deeply as he pushes his tip in. Mickey moans into Ian's mouth. He pulls away from the kiss, grunting as Ian slides all the way in. He stays still for a few moments, letting Mickey adjust. The older man hooks his good leg around Ian's hip and his arm around Ian's neck. He gives him a small nod, telling him he's okay. Ian starts to slowly start moving, his thrusts small and gently. He wanted to tease Mickey at first, draw out moans from him and to get him to beg. It was something Ian had been dying for. To finally have Mickey be vulnerable underneath him.

"The fuck Gallagher? I'm not made of glass down here," he breathes out. Ian chuckles.

"I know. Just warming up," he teases. He sits straight up in front of Mickey and pulls all the way out before slamming back in. Mickey, unprepared for it, lets out a loud grunt, head tipping back in pleasure. Ian grins, satisfied with his reaction. He continues to do that, teasing the man underneath him. It was taking everything in Ian's power to not start plowing into Mickey with all he had. He was aching for release and was barely holding onto control. He starts to pick up his pace a bit. His hands gripping Mickey's hips as he thrusts a bit more roughly.

"C'mere," Mickey whispers. He pulls Ian down by the back of his neck and kisses him roughly. His hand stayed firmly on the back of his head, keeping Ian as close as possible. That was all it took for Ian. By now he threw caution out the window and started to thrust hard into Mickey, the bed creaking slightly underneath them.

Mickey moans, burying his face in the crook of Ian's neck. Ian grunts, his hips rolling back and forth. "Fuck, he breaths out. He leans back and holds onto Mickey's hips again, watching himself fuck into Mickey. He reaches a hand down and grabs at Mickey's ass, causing him to grunt. Mickey, even with his injured leg, tried his best to fuck back against Ian, grunting at the effort "Hey... don't hurt yourself," Ian pants out. "Lemme take care of you." He leans down again, trailing kisses over Mickey's stomach and chest, sucking another hickey on his neck. Mickey wraps both arms around Ian's neck, pulling him closer.

"Gonna cum," he breaths out and Ian nods in agreement. A few more hard thrusts and Mickey was pulled over the edge. He moaned loudly into Ian's neck as he came onto his stomach and chest. Ian quickly pulls out and tosses the condom onto the nightstand. He leans forward, jerking himself off. He lets out a few soft grunts before he cums onto Mickey's stomach.

"Shit," he pants out, flopping down next to Mickey. The both of them lay there, panting softly and taking in the aftermath of their orgasms.

"You know," Mickey whispers. "You're cleaning this shit off of me."

Ian lets out a breathless chuckle. "You're lucky you're crippled," he teases. He rolls over and reaches across Mickey, grabbing some tissues. He wipes off Mickey's stomach before tossing it into the trash. "Sorry for uh, kinda marking you up and shit. I know Svet's gonna love it."

"Don't fucking worry about it. I don't wanna think about that right now. I just wanna lay here after the best fucking orgasm ever."

Ian raises an eyebrow, small grin on his face. "Best orgasm ever, huh?"

Mickey glares at him playfully. "Don't let it go to your already big head. Now get the fuck outta here," he says with fake harshness. "Svet and my sister will both be home any minute now."

Ian laughs. He kisses Mickey once more before getting up. "Need help getting dressed again?" He asks, pulling his clothes back on. Mickey shakes his head.

"Just toss me my boxers." Ian does as told, tossing them to him and slipping into his shoes.

"See you tomorrow?"

Mickey smiles and nods. "See you tomorrow."


	9. The Night Before Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a cute little gallavich Christmas moment. Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas has a wonderful holiday :) happy holidays to everyone

"His favorite are chocolate chip," Yev says. He stands on his tippy toes and grabs the chocolate chips off of the shelf. Mickey grins. He rested all of his weight on his crutches, watching as his son got all the ingredients. It was Christmas Eve and Mickey had promised him they could go out to get cookies for santa. "And we also need the flour and other things too," he says. He tosses the bag into the small cart and pushes it. Since they didn't need much and Mickey couldn't really push a cart, he had Yev push around a child one for them. Yeh had taken the job with honor, wanting to help his father.

"We need eggs and sugar and a bunch of other shit. I'll tell you what we need next after the flour," he says. Soon enough they get all of the things for santas cookies along with a gallon of milk for him and got chocolate for the two got them. They go up to wait and line and much to Mickey's surprise, he sees Ian's sister behind the counter. She smiles.

"Hey, Mickey," Fiona says. "Hey yev."

Yev grins and waves. "Hi! Look, I still have my pajamas on!" He says. He had on his pajama bottoms on wth little polar bears and the matching shirt. His Spider-Man hat was pulled down so that it was almost covering his eyes, his coat was slightly big and gun low on his finger tips and one of his boots were untied.

She smiles. "I see that. I like them. How are you two?"

Mickey shrugs. "Pretty good other than the leg."

She nods. "Yeah, Ian told me about that," she says, scanning the items. "How's it holding up?"

"Better little by little. Finally outta bed now and can walk with crutches," he says.

She nods. "Yeah, Ian said how he had to pick you up from some shit shack out in nowhere."

Mickey laughs and nods. "Yeah that's, uh, that's a story for another day," he says. Fiona nods and puts everything in the bag.

"27.50," she says. Mickey balances on his crutches and reaches back for his wallet. He pulls it out and grabs a twenty.

"Fuck," he mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew for sure he had at least forty in there yesterday and also knew for a fact that it was either Svetlana or Terry who had taken the money. "I got 20 buck and.... 16 cents. I'm good for my word when I say I can give Ian the rest of the cash when I see him again and get it to you."

She shakes her head and takes the twenty. "Don't worry about it. This'll do."

Mickey raises an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

She nods, smiling. "Yeah. It's the holidays. Plus anything for Ian's friend," she says, winking.

Mickey rubs the back of his neck, glancing down at Yev. He then looks back up and smiles. "Thanks," he says. He grabs the bag and hands it to Yev. "Think you can handle it?"

He nods, grinning. "Yep!"

"I'll see you around," Mickey says to her before they leave.

"Why did she do that?" Yev asks. Mickey glances down at him. He struggled to walk through the snow with his crutches. Lucky for him it was his left leg that was shot and he could still easily drive with the other. They get to the car and Mickey opens the door for Yev.

"Do what?" He asks. They climb into the car and Mickey starts it, turning up the heat.

"That thing with her eye," he says. Yev mimics Fiona, winking horribly at Mickey.

Mickey lets out an awkward chuckle. "Don't worry about it, Yev. It doesn't mean anything."

"But why did she do it?" He asks.

"I said don't worry about it," he repeats, backing out of the parking spot.

Yev sighs. "Do we get to see Aunt Mandy today?" He asks.

"Tomorrow, kiddo. She's coming over with Iggy and Colin," he says, thankful Yev had dropped it. Mickey knew Yev would eventually find out about him and Ian if he wasn't more careful. Just last week Yev had seen a text Mickey had received from Ian. It was getting harder and harder to hide his little affair but that wasn't going to make Mickey stop. He wasn't sure anything would.

He groans. "I wanna see her now. I haven't seen her in like a month!" The boy says, folding his arms over his chest.

Mickey smiles and glances over at him. "Tomorrow, Yev. She's coming over after you open your gifts from Santa."

Yev grins at the mention of Santa. He had made his Christmas list before it was even thanksgiving. He had a ton of toys on there. Things like legos or stuffed animals. And Mickey had been working his ass off trying to earn the cash for everything his boy wanted. He never had good holidays as a kid. He was lucky if he even got a single present, which only happened once when Mandy had bought him a box of cigarettes. "Do you think he got me the things on my list? I made sure I was a good boy. I helped mommy make dinner last night and she said it was really good. Didn't you think so?" He asks.

Mickey smiles and nods. "Best damn spaghetti I've ever had. Don't tell mom this... but I think you're the best cook in the house."

Yev giggles. "I think so too. And I think you're the worst!" He teases.

Mickey laughs. "Can't argue with that. That's why I'll let you be in charge of the cookies. These have to be super special cookies for Santa and I don't want to ruin them." Yev nods.

"I have to make chocolate chip ones and ones with frosting! There's gonna be so many cookies for Santa," he says. Mickey parks the car and unbuckled.

Yev hurried out of the back seat and grabs the crutches for Mickey, handing them to Mickey. "Thanks, kiddo," he says, getting out of the car. Yev nods. He grabs the bag and walks up to the house with Mickey. He keeps trying to close one of his eyes at a time, but ultimately falling. Mickey chuckles. "What're you doing?"

"Trying to wink," he grumbles, annoyed that he couldn't do it. Mickey laughs softly and walks inside with Yev. He kicks off his snowy boots. "You wanna go get all the cookie ingredients out?" Yev grins and nods. The boy walks to the kitchen and sets the bag up on the counter, taking out all of the things they needed.

"I think we should make more sugar cookies than chocolate chip because now that I think about it I'm not sure which one santa will like more," he says, mostly to himself. "I think we just have to make all of them!"

Mickey smiles at his son as he walks into the kitchen. "All of them it is then, but it's gonna take a while to bake them all."

"That's okay. Santa needs all the cookies he can get so he can give out all the presents to everyone. And also because he's a fatass."

Mickey laughs. "Santa's a fatass, huh?"

Yev nods. "Yeah. He had a big belly like this," he says, puffing out his stomach. Mickey smiles and pokes his stomach, just as his phone starts to ring. He pulls it out and answers it. "Yo."

"Hey, it's me," Ian says on the other line. "You doing anything?"

"Baking cookies with Yev. Why?" Mickey says. Yev looks up at him.

"Who is it?" The little boy whispers loudly, tugging on Mickey's sleeve. "Oh, is it Mr. Gallagher? Because if it is ask him if he wants to help! We can all make Santa's cookies!" Mickey looks down at Yev and bites his lip. Terry was out and Mickey wasn't planning on doing anything with Ian anyways with Yev around. They were just going to pretend to be just friends so if Svetlana came back she wouldn't have any proof against them. Sure she already assumed she knew about them but it was the holidays and if having Ian over made him and Yevgeny happy, he was going to fucking do it. After all, there wasn't anything wrong with inviting a friend over to hang.

"So, uh, Yevvy wants you to join us. Wanna come?" He asks, grinning. He couldn't see him, but Mickey knew Ian was smiling on the other line.

"That would be awesome. Tell him I'll be over in a few minutes," he says before hanging up.

"Is he coming!?" The little boy asks excitedly. Mickey nods, sticking his phone into his pocket.

"He'll be over in a few minutes. He's just gotta grab his coat and stuff." Yev grins excitedly and nods.

Mickey helps Yev get all of the ingredients out, placing them on the counter. "We need measuring cups," he says to himself. He climbs up onto the counter and was reaching up to grab them as there was a knock on the door. "Mr. Gallagher!" Yev says excitedly. He climbs off of the counter and runs to the door, opening it. Ian was standing there, dark navy beanie on and a puffy coat. He grins down at the boy.

"Hey, Yevgeny," Ian says as he shrugs off his coat. "We making cookies?"

Yev nods. "Yeah and they're gonna be chocolate chip and other ones will have frosting. Daddy and I got cookie cutters so we can make Christmas trees and snowmen and other things," he says excitedly. Ian smiles and follows Yev into the kitchen.

"What's up?" Ian says, grinning at Mickey. Mickey looks over at him and grins back, giving him a nod.

"Sup." Yev grabs Ian's hand and tugs him into the kitchen with him.

 

 

"Okay, so we're gonna start with the frosted ones since those have to cool down before we can add the frosting," he informs. Ian nods and smiles, leaning against the counter next to mickey. He nudges Ian's arm a bit and smiles.

"Yev's one hell of a cook," Mickey tells him. "So we can just let him guide us through the whole cookie baking process." Yev grins and nods.

"I am really good. I made spaghetti last night with mama," he says proudly.

It was nice in a way to have Ian there baking with him and Yev. Mickey found a form of comfort in it. Ian would laugh when he would catch Mickey stealing bites of cookie dough and Yev seemed to really like Ian. Mickey smiled, leaning back against the counter as he watched the two. Yev sat on top of Ian's lap as he rolled the dough into tiny balls and placed them on a cookie sheet. Mickey grabs his own handful but instead of setting it on the tray, he takes a bite from it. "Daddyyyy," Yev whines. "If you eat it all we won't have any left for Santa."

"Well I think your dad is starting to look a bit like Santa from all the cookie dough he's been eating," Ian laughs. Mickey glares at him. He grabs the bag of flour, pours a bit into his hand and tosses it at the two, covering their faces in white powder. Mickey laughs, setting the bag back down. "You dick!" Ian and Yev both grin. Yevgeny reaches into the bowl of dough and tosses a bit of it at his dad, giggling as he does. The kitchen turns into an all out war. Flour flies back and forth and balls of cookie dough are being thrown. By the end of it all three of them are covered in cookie ingredients.

  
"Okay, that's enough," Mickey laughs, shaking his head. "Why don't you go get cleaned up and I'll put the last of these in the oven?" Yev nods. Ian helps him down and he disappears around the corner. Mickey looks back to Ian. "Mind putting them in the oven for me?" He shakes his head and gets up, setting the cookies in the oven.

"This was pretty fun," he says, smiling. He walks back to Mickey and places his hands on his hips.

"Yeah? Maybe we should do it again sometime," he says. Ian nods, smiling back. He leans in and presses his lips gently against Mickey's, cupping the side of his face. Mickey's eyes slip shut, practically melting into the kiss. Never before had Mickey gotten the feeling that he needed to kiss someone, but he did with Ian. With him it felt like an addiction. Like his lips were nicotine and Mickey needed it to survive. He never wanted it to stop. He didn't want to feel the loss of Ian's lips against his. He needed Ian in a way he never needed anyone else before.

His hand slides down the side of Ian's neck and rests on his chest, gently holding onto Ian's shirt. He pulls back after a few moments and rests his forehead against Ian's.

"I'd definitely like that," Ian whispers, his hand sliding down to rest on his thigh. "Maybe instead I could bake something for you. Say.... dinner? Maybe next Friday?" Mickey grins and licks his lips.

"I'd like that," he says. "I'll see if I can sneak out on Friday but I think I can."

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Ian asks, sitting back down next to Mickey. He nods.

"What's up?"

"Are you bisexual?" Ian asks. He had been thinking about it a lot. It was obvious he was into Ian. At first Ian had been doubtful of that before but not anymore. He was confident Mickey liked him and needed him as something more than just a warm mouth.

Mickey snorts and wrinkles his nose up in disgust. "Fuck no."

Ian frowns. "I just.... I'm asking cause you got a kid and a wife. I'm just trying to put the pieces together."

"Well don't," he says suddenly. His whole tone changes. The smile was now replaced with a serious look, one that would have scared Ian if he hadn't known Mickey the way he did. "Its not a big fucking deal."

Ian nods. He didn't want to push the subject and anger him, especially not in front of his kid. "Okay... anyways I'm gonna get going," he says, kissing Mickey on the cheek. "I'll see you Friday?"

Mickey nods, smiling a bit. "See you Friday."

The rest of the night Mickey and Yev spend finishing up the cookies. Svetlana gets home around seven o'clock but goes straight to her and Mickey's bedroom. After spending the evening with ian, Mickey was on a high. He felt light and happy from their encounter and he didn't want to ruin it by sleeping with Svet. So since Terry wasn't home, he was just going to sleep on the couch.

He brushes Yev's hair off of his forehead. His hair was wet from the bathtub and he was wearing the same Christmas pajamas from earlier. "Daddy... can I ask you a question?" Yev asks. Mickey nods. He sets the brush down and pulls the blankets up over Yev.

"What's up, little man?"

"Do you like Mr. Gallagher?" He asks. Mickey nods.

"Yeah, he's one of my friends." Yev quickly shakes his head.

"No, I mean like, like like," he says. "I mean like him were you guys kiss and hold hands." At first Mickey doesn't say anything. He just stares back at his son, an uncomfortable laugh escaping his lips.

"Course not, Yev. Why would you... why would you think that?"

"I'm not stupid," Yev says. "I know you don't love mommy. You don't do what other parents do. You don't go out for dinner or kiss or even say I love you. I... I love you and mommy both but it's okay that you don't love her because you said there's no point in faking something to please others if you aren't happy." Mickey reaches down and grabs his son's hand, smiling softly.

"Yevgeny, I love your mom. We're just going through a rough patch right-"

"No! No stop lying!" He says. "I said it's okay if you don't love mommy like I do. But I wanna know if you like Mr. Gallagher."

What was he supposed to tell his kid? He was only five years old, didn't know his father was gay or that he was the product of rape. So many secrets were hidden from him that Mickey didn't even know if there was anything he could tell him anymore. He didn't want to hurt his feelings or confuse him. Mickey had never been one to tell Yev it was okay to be gay or even explain to him what it was. It surprised him that Yev even asked him about Ian. But he couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't lie to his kid anymore.

"Listen... you're young, kiddo. There's a lot of shit you don't understand but... but daddy's different than your friends parents."

Yev frowns. "Why are you different?"

"I don't... I'm not into girls, buddy."

"I don't get it," he says, shaking his head.

"You're right... I like Mr. Gallagher. I like like him, bud and I'm... I'm so sorry. I tried making it work with mommy but I just can't. Daddy isn't happy this way, but you can't tell anyone about this, okay? This is our little secret."

Yev nods a bit, his eyes watering up. He sits up in the bed and hugs his dad, closing his eyes. "I love you, daddy. I just want you to be happy and if Mr. Gallagher makes you happy then I want you to be with him. Mommy doesn't seem too happy anyways right now. But it's okay because we'll all be happy soon. We just have to fix it, right?"

Mickey smiles and rubs his son's back. Never in his entire life had Mickey wanted a son. The second he found out Svetlana was pregnant, he almost skipped town. And he would have too if it wasn't for Terry. Even after Yev was born, Mickey wanted nothing to do with him for the first year. But as the weeks passed Mickey grew to love the blond headed boy. And now, Mickey loved him more than anything else in the world.

"You're right. We'll figure this all out. I promise."

"I want you to lay with me tonight and wait for santa," he says.

Mickey nods. He lays down with his kid, careful of his bad leg. "How come no one else likes boys like you?"

Mickey lets out a small chuckle. "People do just the ones around here normally aren't open with it because they're scared of others."

Yev nods. "Are you scared?"

Mickey stays silent. It was a simple question. Was he scared? The answer was yes. But he had worked so hard to keep up his tough guy act, especially around his son. He never wanted Yev to grow up to be the coward he had become. "Yeah... yeah I guess I am."

He nods. "That's okay. Everyone is scared of something. I'm scared of the dark," he whispers, closing his eyes. "But you don't have to be scared of me. I don't mind if you like boys."

Mickey smiles. Most people his age didn't except him for liking someone of the same sex but here was his five year old son who didn't give a shit who Mickey liked. And in this moment, Mickey had never been prouder with his son.


	10. Colour my World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s kinda short and shitty but I wanted to post This before New Year’s Eve.

Ian threw his head back in laughter. His hand came down to rest on his stomach since it was hurting so bad from laughing. "You're actually serious?"

Mickey chuckles softly and sips his beer. "I'm being dead ass serious about this. I'm a fucking pimp. Yevgeny didn't make that shit up. I mean don't get me wrong, he's got a good imagination but it ain't that good. That's why I was bleeding out and shot a week ago. Cause I got into some argument with some dude who hit one of my girls. Been doing this for maybe.... five years now? Around the time Svet had Yev. But dealing? Hell I've been doing that shit since I was thirteen."

This was what Ian had wanted all along. To just to be alone with Mickey and to talk. Talk about everything and anything. Sure, talking about Mickey being a pimp wasn't exactly what he had expected, but Ian would take it. Any alone time he got with the man he cherished.

"Listen, I know you're south side, but so am I! And I've never once considered pimping out my sisters or friends. Or even my wife if I had one. But now after knowing how much cash you've been pulling in, might even pimp out myself," he jokes. Mickey laughs and nudges his side.

"It's a lot of fucking hard work. Cause every time a clients got a problem with my girls, I gotta handle it. And as you know they aren't always the friendliest of people."

The two of them sat alone on the Gallagher's couch. Music blared from the radio and the rest of the Gallagher group, along with a few others Mickey didn't know, were either talking, dancing or drinking. It was New Year's Eve and Mickey had been damn lucky to get out of the house. Mandy had offered to keep Yev for the night since she knew how badly Mickey wanted to hang out with Ian. She was willing to give up one night of clubbing so her brother could be happy.

Svetlana, on the other hand, had been harder to get away from. Mickey had practically told her to shove it before he left the house. Mandy, Mickey's favorite person in the world right now, had called and said Mickey was going to hang with her for the night so he was off the hook and off of Svetlana's radar.

"You ever think of doing something that isn't illegal?" Ian teases, causing Mickey to roll his eyes.

"Hard to make good cash anywhere without at lest a high school diploma. Especially if you've got a record," he says. Ian raises an eyebrow.

"You got a record?"

Mickey nods. "The first time I was sent to juvie that shit was able to be wiped clean cause I was a minor. But, uh, I met Svet when I was seventeen years old. So I was still seventeen when I got her pregnant and I didn't wanna deal with that shit. So I ran away. And fuck if I knew that running away could land you behind bars. So long story short, stole some of my dad's cash and ran off. He was so pissed about the money he called the cops on me and got me locked up for stealing and running away. Spent like... a year I think it was in jail," he says.

Ian nods a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. There had been brief moments where Mickey had told him about his dad but he never went into detail about the man like Ian wanted. He wanted Mickey to open up to him but Ian knew that would be almost as difficult as rocket science. "You say shit about your dad a lot... what's he like?" Ian asks quietly. The second the words slipped from his mouth, he regretted it. Mickey quickly stood up off of the couch and downed his beer.

"I'm gonna get another one. You want one too?" He mumbles, only glancing at Ian for a second.

Ian gives him a small, forced smile and nods. "No, thanks," he says.

The last thing Mickey wanted was to start off the new year talking about his dad. He wanted to just enjoy the night with Ian. He wanted to drink with him, laugh and hell maybe even fuck around a bit if they could get any alone time in the Gallagher household.

"You care that you still live with your siblings?" Mickey mumbles, flopping back down on the couch next to him. Ian shrugs and shakes his head.

"It can be a lot at times. They're loud and obnoxious but I don't mind. I'm actually looking at apartments on the north side right now." Mickey raises an eyebrow, sipping his beer.

"No shit? You're going north side, huh?" He teases. Ian laughs.

"I mean it's just an option. Could always take you with me," he says. Mickey rolls his eyes, glancing over at Ian.

"Maybe in a perfect world," he says, lips already wrapping around the beer.

The one thing Ian was willing to die trying for was getting Mickey to dance with him. His original plan was to get him drunk because the one time he had seen Mickey drunk, he was lighter. More laid back, but it turned out to be a hell of a lot harder to get the man drunk than Ian had originally thought. So he was on to option two which was begging. “Hey, I gotta an idea.”

Mickey raises an eyebrow. “What’s up?”

“Wanna dance with me?” Ian asks, smiling.

Mickey snorts. “No fucking way.”

Ian pulls on Mickey's hand. "Please? Lip's dancing and goofing around with his girlfriend. I wanna do that with you."

Mickey laughs and shakes his head. "Ian, my leg is still bad."

"That's bullshit! You've been off those crutches for like five days now!" Mickey shakes his head again.

"Yeah, rather not fucking embarrass myself in front of your family, Gallagher cause news flash, I kinda like you."

Ian grins a bit and places his hand over his heart. "Did I just hear Mickey Milkovich say he likes me?"

"Fuck you is what you heard," he grumbles, flipping him off. Mickey felt his heart rate pick up at just the mention of dancing in front of everyone. He liked Ian and from what he knew so far, his family liked him. And Mickey didn't want to fuck things up before they even began. Micky couldn't remember a single time he had danced other than once. But he was high and at his friends house. And the dancing was more of a stumbling, drunken walk other than dancing. For one, Mickey wasn't confident enough to just get up and dance. Especially with another man. He felt clumsy and stupid doing so. Sure when other people did it, especially couples, they seemed smooth and confident. And it was kinda hot sometimes.

So Mickey was dead set on not dancing in front of his boyfriend's family. Sure he had excepted the fact that he was gay and that it wasn't changing any time soon. But that didn't mean Mickey was out and proud about it. Staying deep in the closet had been working good so far and he was planning on sticking with it for as long as he could.

"Please, babe?" Ian asks, puffing out his bottom lip. Mickey groans. He hated when Ian threw the puppy dog look at him because it was hard to resist.

"One fucking dance and that's it. Not two. Not one and a half. One dance and that's it," he says, chugging his beer. Ian's eyes lit up and he nods quickly.

"One dance, got it," Ian says, grinning widely. Mickey was already prepared to horribly embarrass himself, but seeing Ian grin like this would be worth it. He loved seeing Ian smile and knowing that he had made him do so.

Mickey groans as he was practically pulled off of the couch. Ian then goes over to the radio and flips through the stations before landing on “Colour my World” by Chicago. “Perfect,” he whispers. The song had just began so Ian quickly turns around and grabs Mickey.

“I’ve never slow danced before so I, uh, I’ve got no clue what I’m doing,” Mickey whispers. Ian smiles softly, placing his hands on the older man’s hips.

“Don’t worry. Just put your hands on my shoulders and follow my lead.” By now Carl, Liam and Debbie had long since gone to bed, leaving on Fiona and Lip down stairs with them. And everyone else who wasn’t a Gallagher had left. The two of them chatted in the kitchen which Mickey was grateful for because he doubted he’d be able to do any of this with them in the room. Ian was grinning like an idiot by now. He gently held on to the shorter man’s hips as they swayed to the music. Mickey was stiff, his movements robotic and not smooth at all, unlike Ian. Ian was relaxed and swaying carelessly to the music around them, enjoying every second he got with Mickey. “You’re so handsome, Mickey,” he whispers.

Mickey gives him a shy smile and looks down at the space between their feet. “Stop that...”

“Stop what?” He whispers. Ian wraps his arm around mickeys waist, pulling him against him.

“Stop complimenting me and shit.”

“Why?”

“Because I... I don’t like it,” he whispers. Mickey looks up, staring at a spot just above Ian’s shoulders.

“You are though,” Ian whispers. He leans in and kisses mickeys cheek, then his jaw and then his neck.

Mickey rolls his eyes, resting his forehead against Ian’s. The two dance silently for the remainder of the song. Ian’s hands had found their way back to Mickey’s hips, holding them gently. Mickey had his arms wrapped around Ian’s neck, a small smile on his lips.

For Ian the song ended too soon. Way too soon. He had felt Mickey start to relax towards the end, just swaying to the rhythm with Ian. “Okay, you happy now?” Mickey asks.

Ian grind and leans in to kiss him deeply. His lips were soft and warm against Mickey’s, a welcoming feeling. Mickey’s hand automatically came up to rest on the side of Ian’s face, stroking his cheek gently as they kissed.

“Very,” Ian whispers, smiling breathlessly at Mickey.

________________________________

Around three am, long after everyone else had gone to sleep, the two of them decided to follow. They both stripped down to their boxers and climbed into Ian’s bed. Mickey let’s out a quiet yawn, pressing his back to Ian’s stomach. Ian smiles and kisses the top of his head before closing his eyes. Neither one of them spoke until Ian was nearly asleep.

“My dad’s an asshole,” Mickey whispers.

Ian cracks open his eyes. “Hmm?” He mumbles, half asleep. Mickey flips around in the bed to face Ian.

“You asked about my dad so I’m telling you. He’s an asshole. He’s the reason why I can’t come out and actually do shit in public with you.”

“Cause if he knew he’d disown you or something?” Ian asks, trying to piece it together. Mickey laughs.

“I wish. No, he does know. He found out I was gay, but he thought he fixed it.

Ian frowns. “The fuck does that mean?”

“It means he caught me in bed with another man before and man did he go crazy. He beat the shit outta me, surprised I didn’t pass out. Told me no son of his would be a faggot and he was gonna fix it. So he called Svet. She was a whore, still is, but she was working for someone else and my dad called her to fuck the faggot out of me. And, uh, we couldn’t stop till I enjoyed it or whatever and so I had to fake it. And now here we are today with my wife and my kid.”

Ian could barely stand to listen to Mickey speak. The story was just too horrendous for him. “Fuck Mickey I’m so so-“

“Don’t. Don’t want your pity or your sorries. It’s not your fault it’s mine,” he whispers. Ian quickly shakes his head.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Mick. That isn’t your fault either. It’s not your fault that you just wanted to be you. You wanted to be happy and it got fucked over. It’s your dad’s. He’s a psychotic evil prick who was just trying to ruin your life. But you don’t have to let him win. He hasn’t ruined your life, Mickey. I mean hell sure you’ve got a wife you don’t want and a kid you didn’t plan for but still. You love Yev more than anything and Svetlana, I’m gonna help you with that problem. We’ll figure this out together Mickey.”

Mickey flashed him a small embarrassed smile. “Thanks, Ian,” he whispers. Ian nods and kisses his forehead.

“Of course,” he says, rubbing Mickey’s back. “Now get some sleep. We’ll worry about this shit in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’m in desperate need for help. I’ve hit a major slump with this story and I’d love to hear what you guys would like to see in the upcoming chapters because quite frankly, I can’t think of a single thing to add into the next chapter. I don’t wanna give up on this fanfic Bc so many of you guys enjoy it and so do I. I just need some ideas :)


	11. Sex on Fire

Mickey kisses the younger man deeply on the lips. He places his hands on Ian's hips only to get them shoved away. Ian takes control, shoving him back into the bed. "How long you think we have?"

"About twenty minutes," Mickey pants out, undoing his jeans. Svetlana had taken Yev over to her friends house and Terry was out getting drunk so the two men were left with a short window of time to themselves.

Ian nods. He reaches down and helps Mickey with his jeans, tossing them to the side of the room. Both men quickly discard their clothes, tossing them to the ground. "C'mere," Mickey mumbles. He pulls Ian down by the back of his neck and kisses him deeply. Ian grins against his lips, kissing back with the same amount of passion and want. Ian would have stayed that way for the rest of his life if he could. His lips pressed against Mickey's. The way his soft lips felt against his own never seemed to seize to amaze him. It was like he was a teenage boy again and Mickey was his high-school crush.

Ian slips his tongue past Mickey's lips as he pops open the cap to the lube. He leans back so that he was between the older man's legs as he spreads the lube over this three fingers. He presses his clean hand against Mickey's stomach as he sucks a hickey into his inner thigh, drawing a moan from him and it only encouraged Ian to continue. He made his way up Mickey's thighs and to his stomach than chest, slowly sliding one finger in as he did. Once he was in all the way, Mickey let's out a soft moan. "Get your ass back up here, Gallagher." Ian let's out a small chuckle.

"So goddamn needy." Ian presses his lips back against Mickey's as he slowly thrusts his finger in and out of Mickey's tight ass. Soft moans were exchanged between the kiss as Ian slowly worked his way up to three fingers, working and stretching out the other man. The whole time, Ian couldn't seem to keep his lips off of Mickey. He loved they way his skin felt against him. How his pale chest and stomach was pressed against his own underneath him.

Mickey taps his cheek, drawing Ian away from his neck. "I'm good. You can get in me already," he says, small grin on his lips. Ian nods, not hesitating a moment. He gently pulls his fingers out before grabbing the lube bottle again. He slicks up his cock and lining it up with Mickey's hole. His hands come down to gently spread Mickey's legs wider. He uses one of his hands to guide his tip in, drawing out a grunt from the man underneath him.

"I'm not made of glass. I ain't gonna break if you fuck too fast," Mickey teases and Ian rolls his eyes.

"Sorry for caring," he teases back. Ian leans over Mickey, leaning forward on his hand so that he was just inches from Mickey's face and slowly slides his cock all the way in. The man let's out a small grunt underneath him. He bites his bottom lip and wiggles a bit underneath Ian, getting adjusted and comfortable. Once Ian feels like he's ready, he starts to slowly thrust into him, hands on his hips as he does.

Mickey let's out a soft moan and grins up at Ian. "This isn't my first fuck," he teases. "You can go faster."

For once, Ian didn't want to go faster. He wanted to take things slow and make them worth it. He wanted to feel every inch of Mickey. Wanted to have him withering in pleasure with his cock buried deep in him. Ian needed this. Needed Mickey and he was sure Mickey needed him too.

Ignoring Mickey's demands, Ian leans down to suck on his nipple to distract him. His teeth gently graze against the tender skin, causing Mickey to shiver. He brings a hand up and burrows it in orange hair. His head tilts back as Ian sucks a small hickey onto his pale chest. He started to thrust a bit quicker, moving so that all of his cock was in Mickey and then pulled out so just the tip was. As much as Ian wanted to savor this forever, he knew it was only a matter of time before Svetlana or Terry arrived back home.

"Fuck Ian..." Mickey breathes out. His eyes were full of lust as he looked up at the man hovering over him. It was the most at peace Mickey had felt in the longest time. He was constantly on edge, afraid Terry was going to find out his secret. But not now. Now his mind was blank, full of lust and pleasure.

Ian smiles down at him, gently placing his lips against Mickey's. They both closed their eyes, focusing almost fully on the kiss and nothing else. The way Mickey's lips felt against his own sent sparks through him and made him feel like he was back in high school again, drooling over some boy.

Ian leans back, hands gently holding onto the pale man's hips. He starts to thrust harder and quicker into Mickey, causing him to grunt quietly. Ian reaches down and wraps his digits around Mickey's cock, stroking it to the same pace as his thrusts. "Just like that... fuck feels good," Mickey mumbles out breathlessly.

Ian grins down at him. He puts his free hand on Mickey's stomach, pushing him down into the mattress as his hips snap forward, slowly getting quicker and quicker until the bed was creaking quietly. Ian lets out a series of quiet moans as he felt the pleasure increase in his abdomen. A bit of precum ran down from Mickey's hole. Ian leans down and presses his forehead against Mickey's. "I'm close," he whispers. Mickey nods, pulling back so he could latch his lips onto Ian's. He kisses him deeply and knocks Ian's hand off of his cock so he could jerk himself. Mickey let out a loud moan as he felt his legs tremble with plessure, soon warm cum spilling onto his stomach.

It only took the tightening of Mickey's hole and a few more thrusts before Ian was spilling cum into Mickey. He rode out their high, thrusting slowly and sloppily before he pulled out and flopped down next to Mickey on the bed. "That was good," Ian says breathlessly.

Mickey let's out a tired chuckle and nods. "Yeah, it was," he says, looking over at him. Mickey leans across and kisses Ian gently on the lips. "I was, uh... I was looking into some shit and thinking...."

Ian raises an eyebrow. "Thinking about what?"

"About getting out of Hell House."

Ian felt a small smile spread across his face. He hated seeing Mickey hide and cower around Svet. He could only imagine how terrified he was around terry. "Mick, that would be awesome. What about Yevgeny though?"

Mickey nods. "Just hear me out. I think I can get custody of him easily. Just gotta prove that Svet is here illegally. And Terry... think I can get him arrested or something too. He's always got possession of something on him. All I have to do is get him pissed off in public, get him to fight me and the cops will get involved because when Terry fights he fucking goes all out. Only problem is that I'd have to have a place lined up for me to live after I do this."

"Stay with me," Ian immediately says.

"C'mon, man. You live with your siblings still. You don't got any room for me and a kid."

Ian shakes his head. "Don't worry about that. I've been looking for apartments for a while now. Maybe we could go apartment hunting together now," he grins.

Mickey raises an eyebrow. "You'd Really want me and Yev to come live with you?"

Ian grins widely and nods. "I'm sure of it."

Mickey nods. "Then its a date. You start by looking for apartments tomorrow and I'll find a lawyer or whatever for the Svet issue. Wanna meet tomorrow? Can probably see you after I put Yev to bed and Svets asleep."

Ian grins and nods. "Can't wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry it took me forever to crank out this chapter. I just had massive writers block with this work. But I’m going to try to write out another chapter in the next week but if there’s scenes or anything at all that you guys would like to see/want me to add PLEASE comment and let me know. I’d greatly appreciate it :)


	12. Watch Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if anyone noticed but this fanfic will be ending on the 21st chapter which means we’re nearing the end with just a few chapters to go. If there’s things that haven’t been answered yet or that you’d like to see before the end please comment below and I’ll try to add them in the best I can :)

Mickey was sitting on the front steps of his house. It was nearly one am and the air was cold, turning his cheeks a soft pink color. He glances up when he hears footsteps on the pavement. "Hey," he says to Ian. Ian grins and takes a seat down next to him.

"So you find a lawyer and shit today?" He asks. Mickey shrugs, passing his cigarette over to Ian.

"So can't afford a fuckin' lawyer right now. Those stuck up pricks are worth more than mine and your houses combined. Could get a shitty one for cheap but I could probably put together a better case on my own than they could. But I set up an appointment for tomorrow afternoon with a free legal family lawyer dude. Supposed to be good at what he does. Name's Calum Walters. Think he's based out of Indiana but read up on some reviews and he sounds top notch."

Ian nods. He takes a drag from the cigarette, blowing smoke out into the dark air before passing it back over. "That's good. Want me to come with? I could call off work."

Mickey raises an eyebrow, looking over at him. "Why the fuck would you come with?" It wasn't that Mickey didn't want Ian to come. Hell, if he could Mickey would spend every second with Ian. But of course he could never admit that to the man. Even if he knew the feelings were mutual.

He shrugs. "Dunno. Emotional support?" He jokes.

Mickey laughs and shakes his head. "You look at any apartments?"

He nods. "Saw a few. There's this nice one on the north side I really like and it's not too far from the southside so I can still be close to my family and you with Mandy. Its one bath, two bedrooms. Think we can afford it too," he grins.

Mickey smiles. "Maybe this weekend we can head over to check it out. Even got me a job interview set up so we may be able to afford more."

Ian's eyes go wide. "No way!? Where at?"

Mickey rolls his eyes at his boyfriend's excitement. "It's nothing special at all. But, uh, got a job as a waiter at a small restaurant over on the north side. Pay is decent though." Ian's smile only grows and he leans over to peck Mickey on the cheek.

"Mick that's awesome! Guess that means no more badass pimp anymore, huh?"

"Oh, fuck off. Doubt I’ll even get the job," he says, laughing quietly. "But yeah. Figured having a decent job would give me a better chance at winning custody for my kid."

Ian nods. "Definitely. You sure Yevgeny will be okay with leaving Svet?" Mickey let's out a heavy sigh.

"Honestly? Don't know," he admits. Mickey knew the boy loved his mother but he also knew that she wasn't the best role model for him. Now either was he but he was trying to change, to better himself for his kid. Yet Svetlana would still take Yev to meet with "clients" and Mickey didn't agree with it one bit. He also knew he had to get Yev away from Terry because he'd be damned if his father ruined one more life.

Family was everything to Mickey. The second someone got into his small circle, he wouldn't let go. And Yev was in that circle. He didn't want to lose his son. He wanted to help him grow up and be happy in love and he felt the only way to do that was to raise him away from Svet and his childhood home.

Ian nods slowly. "You need to talk to him about it before all this shit goes down," he says.

"I know. I'm going to eventually just need to figure out how first. Also got Terry to worry about." He takes one more drag from his cigarette before sticking it in the snow.

"Is Yev close to him too?"

Mickey snorts and shakes his head. "Fuck, no. Terry's... he's never laid a hand on Yev but that's Thanks to me. He's an asshole like I told ya before and he's tried to hit Yev before but I make sure he doesn't put a hand on my son."

"How do you stop him?" He whispers. Ian figured he knew the answer, but he needed to know for sure.  
He shrugs and knocks his knuckles against his nose. "Gotta do whatever I gotta do. Does he get in a good punch with me sometimes? Hell Yeah he does but doesn't mean I'm gonna stop. Don't want Yev growing up with what I did."

"Mickey I'm so sorry. Terry's gonna be out of your life soon," he says, placing his hand on his boyfriend's knee.

Mickey nods a bit, flashing him a small smile "Listen.... I'm gonna head back in cause I gotta wake up early to take Yev to school. If you wanna come tomorrow to the thing it's at twelve so just meet me here before that," he says, standing up. Ian smiles softly and nods, kissing Mickey gently on the lips.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he confirms and Mickey can't help but lean in again. He cups Ian's face with his hands and presses his lips against his boyfriend's.

"Thank you," he whispers. Ian smiles against his lips and nods.

"Goodnight, Mickey," Ian whispers back before walking away.

________________________________

The next morning, after dropping Yev off at school, Mickey sits down on his front porch. His legs dangle off the step, shaking his foot nervously. Mickey had never pictured himself in this situation. With a wife and boyfriend at the same time, a five year old son or taking the first step to live his own life. He had always pictured himself living with Terry under his rules and watchful eye. But now Mickey was risking it all for a chance to start again. He wanted a better life not only for himself, but for Yevgeny as well.

As Mickey enjoyed his cigarette a small grey truck pulls up to his house. The owner parks it and steps out. "Hey," he grins.

Mickey raises an eyebrow. "You're late," he teases. Ian rolls his eyes and glances down at the time on his phone.

"It's 11:07. The appointment isn't until noon."

Mickey shrugs, flicking his cigarette forward into the snow. "So? You texted and said you'd be over at eleven."

"I said around eleven. There's a difference. Anyways, if you're ready to go we can go now. Looked up the place and it's about a forty minute drive." Mickey nods, standing up off of the porch.

"Yeah let's get goin," he agrees. He follows Ian to his car and gets into the passengers seat while Ian gets into the drivers.

The two of them drive in almost complete silence. Mickey too nervous to talk and Ian realizes so and knowing he needed some space. Soon enough they arrive and Ian parks his car in the parking lot.

"Fuck can't believe I'm doin' this shit. Didn't see myself ever trying to get outta the southside," he says. Ian smiles slightly as he turns off the car.

"We just have to get through this legal shit and we'll be home free. Get a nice apartment and shit on the north-side and a good school for Yev."

Mickey chuckles softly and leads Ian inside. "Alright, keep it in your pants for now," he jokes. The two of them approach the counter, a petite blonde headed women behind it. She smiles up at them.

"Hello, how can I help you today?"

"Uh, I got an appointment at noon with Calum Walters," he says, running his thumb over his bottom lip.

She nods and looks through her computer files. "Okay, Mikhailo Milkovich?" He nods. "Okay, he actually just finished up so you can head in early." The woman stands up and leads the two of them to the back and into a room. "Mr. Walters? Your 12 pm appointment is here."

A middle aged man looks up from his desk and smiles, nodding. "Good, c'mon in guys," he says. Mickey glances over at Ian for a second before walking into the room. The two of them sit side by side. "So how can I help you today?"

"Uh, I'm trying to get full custody of my son from my wife," he says. The man nods.

"Okay, and is there a specific reason why you want full custody."

Mickey snorts. "There's many reasons. Don't even know where to start."

The man nods a bit and smiles softly. "Just start from the beginning and we'll go from there."

Mickey nods. He wasn't used to opening up. Especially not to strange, random men. "Well, uh, guess it started when I got married to her. She was a hooker, still is and I mean I'm not one to judge. Ain't saying I'm the best man out there. But the thing I can't stand is that she takes my kid out on the job with her. When I can't watch him she'll bring him to houses of clients and the last thing I want is for him to grow up to live the same life I am."

The man nods, typing away on his laptop. "And have you two been talking about divorce?"

Mickey shakes his head. "Not an option. It's an arranged marriage all thanks to my dad. Let's just say the life style I wanna live isn't welcomed in the house hold." Calum looks up and glances between the two of them. He seems to understand what Mickey meant and nods.

"Gotcha. So we're going to need prove of your wife's work and is there anything else that'll help us get custody that you can think of?"

Mickey laughs. "Thought that was your job," he says. "But, uh, not too sure bout this one but I think our marriage isn't even fucking real. Think she faked the paperwork and if that's right than she's an illegal immigrant in our country."

Calum nods. "That's good. That's gonna help us a lot. Mr. Milkovich, I think we're gonna have a solid case," he smiles.

________________________________

The meeting was enough to tire Mickey out for the rest of the day. He spent the remainder of his night stressing and worrying that there was no way he was going to be able to get his son.

In hopes of relieving some of that stress, Mickey sat on the couch. The tv was on and he had a beer in his hand. It was midnight which meant Yevgeny had long since fallen asleep and Svetlana was in the shower.

It wasn't often Mickey got alone time in the house and he cherished it whenever he could. But of course as soon as it began, it ended. Terry flopped down on the couch next to Mickey and took the beer from his son's hands. "Were gone all day," he points out, sipping the beer.

"Yeah, it's called work," he says back, eyes glued to the television screen.

"Oh yeah? That ginger part of your work? Saw you leave with him today."

Those words were enough to drain the blood from Mickey's face. His whole body went still, but he refused to show his nerves. "Yeah. Told you I got a job over at a nice restaurant. He was just giving me a lift to work."

"What's wrong with your car?" He asks, now directing his attention to Mickey who still refused to return the eye contact.

"Svet had it."

"You think I was born a fucking moron?" He questioned in a deadly tone. "Let's get one thing straight, Mickey. If I find out there's still the smallest part of you that's still faggot, I will beat your fucking head in so bad you won't be able to walk again. You hear me?"

Mickey nods. He had the death grip on ten couch at this point and he was biting the inside of his cheek so hard he tasted blood. "Yes, sir. He's just a work buddy."

Terry let's out a grunt as he stands up. "For your sake, I hope you're telling the truth."


	13. Plan B

"We gotta call the plan off."

Mickey's finger hovers over the send button. Last night when Terry had not so discreetly admitted he was onto him was the final straw. Sure he wanted to be free, but he also needed to look after his son. And so far he had been able to protect Yevgeny from the wrath of his father and he didn't want to do anything to fuck that up. His son was everything to him.

He sends the text before he can change his mind and quickly tosses his phone down onto his bed so he can't look at it. His stomach was already churning and he rubbed the palms of his hands onto his jeans. He hadn't slept all night and he felt jittery and on edge. Mickey glances toward the night stand and looks at the clock.

7:00 am.

Which meant it was almost time to bring Yevgeny to school.  He reluctantly picks his phone back up. Mickey tugged on his flannel and buttoned it up as he walked down the hall and into the kitchen. Yev grins at him widely, a bit of milk dripping down his chin. "Morning, sleepyhead," Yev teases, shoveling another spoonful of Cheerios into his mouth.

Mickey gives him a strained smile and pulls the orange juice out of the fridge. "Hey, kiddo," he says. He twists the cap off and chugs some of the cold liquid down.

"What have I said about drinking from the carton?" Svetlana scolds, hand on her hip. "Don't."

Mickey slowly brings the bottle down away from his lip and grabs the cap. "Alright fine. And how many fucking times have I told you to put Yevgeny's toys away in the bathroom and you haven't?" He questions, putting the cap back on and setting it back into the fridge.

"Yevgeny is big boy, yes? Then he should clean own mess up." She says. Svetlana grabs a napkin from the counter and wipes Yevgeny's face off. "Go get shoes on." The boy nods. He hops down from the stool he was at and runs to his room to get his shoes.

"Listen, I have a job interview today," Mickey lies, knocking his knuckles against the side of his nose. "So I may be out for a while today."

Svetlana shrugs. "Don't care."

"Didn't think so," Mickey mumbles. He walks into the living room and tugs his scarf around his neck. "Yev you ready?"

Yev comes running out of his room, shoes untied. "I need you to tie my shoes first!" He grins widely.

Mickey let's out a small sigh and bends down. Normally he wouldn't mind tying Yev's shoes or driving him to school but today was different. Today everything just seemed to put Mickey on edge and it was only seven in the morning.

He quickly ties the boy's shoes before standing back up. He opens the front door and let's Yev walk out and hop down the stairs first before following behind. "Are you gonna say hi to Mr. Gallagher?" Yev asks.

Mickey rubs his thumb over his bottom lip and shakes his head. "Don't worry about it," he says as he unlocks the car and gets inside with Yev. He sits down on his seat and feels his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulls it out and looks at it.

Ian [7:13] : what?? Mick is something going on.

Mickey bites his lip as he types back a quick reply.

Mickey [7:14] : we're not moving in together. Not getting full custody of Yev. Nothing. We're done. I'm done.

Before he could sit and dwell on his words, he puts the car in drive and drives down the road. The ride was rather quiet. Mickey didn't bother with the radio and Yev seemed to notice that his dad wasn't on the talking mood.

The ride to the elementary school seemed to go by too quick for mickeys liking. He parks the car and reluctantly gets out with Yev. He holds his son's hand as he leads him up to the school and into his classroom. Yev grins widely and waves at Ian. "Hi, Mr. Gallagher!" He says.

Ian looks over at them and forces a small smile. "Hey, kiddo. Why don't you put your stuff up and grab your art box. We're going to be coloring this morning." Yev nods and hurried over to the other students. Ian looks over at Mickey. "Can we talk?"

Mickey rubs his bottom lip with his thumb. "Ian... you saw my text. This is it. We're done," he whispers, turning and leaving. Ian follows him out the door.

"You're kidding, right?" Ian laughs humorlessly and shakes his head. "You're pathetic. You're so close, mick. So close to getting out of that house and we're gonna move in with Yev. Come one, Mickey.... everything's gonna be okay if we just follow through."

"You don't get it, Ian. My Dad's onto us and if he finds out what we're doing he will kill us both. And who the hell knows what hell do to Yevgeny. I ca-... I can't risk that. My son's safety is the first concern of me. Always has been and always will," Mickey says, knocking his knuckles against the side of his nose.

Ian shakes his head. "You're fucking stupid if you go through with this. You say that your son's safety is your first concern but that's bullshit. If it was you'd do anything to get him out of that house. From the shit that you told me goes on in there... Mickey it's not safe for you or him to live there, but I can keep you safe. We move to the north side, get Terry sent to prison and we'll be safe. And I know it's what you want. I know you'll just be miserable and fucking... fucking pathetic your whole life if you stay there."

Mickey let's out a bitter laugh. "Fuck you, Gallagher. You don't know shit about my home life so why don't you do us both a favor and butt out," he says before walking away.

________________________________

Mickey had spent his whole day driving, grocery shopping and pretty much using every excuse he could think of so he wouldn't have to go home. It was now seven pm. He was in the living room smoking and watching tv while Yev was in his bedroom playing with his toys. Svetlana on the other hand had ran off somewhere and Mickey couldn't care less. He stared at the basketball game that was on the screen, but wasn't really paying much attention to it. Instead he was trapped inside his own mind, worrying about his earlier actions. 

"Daddy!" Yev yells, running into the living room. He was grinning widely, two action figures in his hands. "Daddy!" he repeats, climbing onto the couch next to him. "Do you wanna play with me?"

Mickey looks over at him and puts his cigarette out in the ash tray. "Not right now, bud," he says, rubbing his hands over his face. 

Yev frowns. "But we always play before bedtime."

"Not tonight, Yevgeny," Mickey repeats. 

Yev looks up at him, leaning in close to inspect his father's face. "Are you sad?" 

Mickey frowns. "What? No, no don't worry about it. I'm fine."

Yev shakes his head. He sets his toys down on the table and grabs the blanket off of the back of the couch. He scoots over closer to Mickey and spreads the blanket out across them. "Did grandpa do something?" He whispers. He knew most of the time when Mickey got angry or upset it was from something that Terry did. 

Mickey smiles sadly down at Yev and kisses the top of his head. "I'm fine, bud."

Yev smiles a little and nods. "I know you always say that even when you're not okay. But Aunt Mandy told me that sometimes it's okay to be sad or to cry. So if you wanna cry it's okay. Just let me know so I can go get the tissues."

Mickey laughs and nods. "Okay, deal. I'll give you enough time to go grab the tissues before I start crying."

Yev giggles. "Good! I love you, daddy."

Mickey smiles softly. "I love you too, Yevgeny."


	14. Reconstruction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a short little chapter for you guys. Hope you enjoy :)

Ian had called off work for the past two days and he was doing the same thing again today. He just couldn't seem to get out of bed. He had been in the same pair of clothes for days now and his hair was messy from rolling around restlessly all night. Ian couldn't tell if it was the bipolar keeping him in bed or the heartbreak. Or maybe it was a mixture of both.

There was a knock on his door and he slowly cracks his eyes open. "What?" He groans. Lip walks in a pitiful smile on his face.

"What's up, man? You feeling any better?"

Ian tried to shrug but couldn't find the energy in him to even do that. "Not at all."

Lip nods and sits down on the edge of his bed. "Why don't you try going for a run today? You haven't gone in a while."

Ian shakes his head. "Not feeling up to it right now. Maybe tomorrow or something," he lies. Ian knew he'd be lucky if he made it down to the kitchen today. The farthest he had gone was the bathroom. Lip had brought him food up and tried to get him to change and shower but Ian couldn't find the energy to do so. All that was on his mind was pale skin and deep blue eyes. An image of the man he loved, but know he wasn't so sure if he was loved back.

"Listen, Ian. This is bullshit. I get it if you're feeling depressed again because the meds aren't working. And if that's the case then I'll take you to the doctor right now. But if you're staying in bed because that piece of shit broke it off with you, then you need to get your ass up and moving again. He wasn't any good for you anyways."

Ian glares at him. "I know he was an asshole... and stubborn and whatever else bad shit you're probably thinking about him. But I loved him because when I was around him there were other things to him than just bad. He was kind and funny and kind of a dork too. I just... I just really fucking loved him, Lip. I don't know what to do know," he says, eyes watering up.

Lip let's out a sigh. He scoots up closer to Ian on the bed and looks down at him. "Listen, I know it sucks. Trust me I felt the same way when Karen and I broke things off. But you're better off this way, Ian. In a day or two I'm sure you'll get over him," he says, standing up. "I'll be downstairs, okay? Holler if you need anything."

Ian nods. He knew it wouldn't be a day or two and he'd be over Mickey. He knew it would take much longer than that and he wasn't sure he'd be able to handle it. Sure this was his first real relationship before but Ian could just feel it was something more than a short thing. To him, it was meant to last.

________________________________

By the time Mickey had finished his first shift at work, he was completely exhausted. He was at work from 11 am until 10 pm. It was the first time he had had a real job in... Well, it was the first time he had ever had a real job. And it felt weird yet refreshing. But he knew he was missing something. And that something was Ian. Because he found himself wanting nothing more than to strip down to his boxers and climb into bed with that red-headed dork. But thanks to Mickey’s cowardliness, he couldn’t.

He let out a heavy sigh as he quietly shut the front door behind him. It was a school night which meant Yev had gone to bed at least a half an hour ago, but it was still early enough that Terry was probably off drinking and sect doing God knows what. So an exhausted Mickey kicked his shoes off and shuffled to his room. He heard the shower on in his bathroom where Svet probably was but he paid no mind to it. He flopped down onto the bed and let out a loud angry groan. All day he had been angry at himself for fucking up so much all the time. He had constantly let Terry push him around and control him and now Svetlana was doing the same thing. But he was done. He was done letting other people control what he did. He was ready to do what he wanted in life and what made him happy. He pulled his phone out from his pocket and brought up Ian’s contact. Without a second thought, he typed up a text and sent it.

{Mickey 10:37} I’m an asshole.

Mickey was honestly expecting his text to go unread. Never to be opened or responded to. But he was surprised when he felt it vibrate in his hand.

{Ian 10:40} a huge one

{Mickey 10:42} Listen, you’re right. I’m the biggest asshole on the planet and I get that. I dunno why I did any of this. No, actually I do know why... I did it Bc I’m a fucking pussy. I was letting my dad get to me. I was letting everyone else control me and I didn’t fight back once. But I’m done with that shit. I’m so fucking sorry Ian.

He sets his phone down on his stomach and runs his hands over his face. Mickey felt them tremble slightly as his eyes watered up. He was afraid it was too late to fix things between him and Ian.

{Ian 10:45} I’m willing to help you if you’ll just let me Mick. Hell I want to help you more than anything.

{Mickey 10:45} and I want ur help now Ian. I fucking need it more than anything

{Ian 10:49} like I said, ur right about being a complete and utter asshole. But I still love u and accept the fact that ur a major dick. I'm willing to give whatever we have a second shot if you are.

Mickey couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as he read the text. He had no idea what he did to deserve a man so great.

{Mickey 10:51} definitely want a second go at this. Ur the fucking best ian. See u tomorrow? I work but u could come over at seven when I get off.

{Ian 10:53} see you tomorrow. I love you. Asshole.

Mickey grins.

{Mickey 10:55} love you too carrot top.


	15. Apartment Hunting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry these chapters have been so short. I’ve just lost some inspiration for this fanfic but I don’t wanna let you guys down and not finish it so I’m trying to power my way through

Mickey sat behind the wheel of his car, cigarette between his lips. It was Friday evening now, a day after his and Ian's fight and they were going to look at apartments together. Mickey sat in his car in front of the Gallagher's house as he waited for Ian to come out.

Soon enough he saw the familiar redhead bounding down the steps toward him. Mickey couldn't help but smile as he watched him. It had only been a few days since they had last seen each other but to Mickey, it felt like years. He presses the cigarette out in the ashtray that sat on the dashboard as Ian gets into the car.

"Hey," he grins. Ian leans over and kisses Mickey deeply on the lips.

"Missed you," Mickey admits quietly.

Ian grins and leans in to kiss Mickey again. He cups the side of his cheek and deepens the kiss, slipping his tongue into Mickey's mouth. Mickey chuckles and pulls back. "Keep it in your pants for a little bit, Okay?"

Ian let's or a fake sigh and nods. "Fine," he groans. Mickey smiles and starts the car. It was a little after seven and the landlord to the apartment complete had agreed to squeeze them in tonight for a showing of the apartment. Mickey was beyond excited to go apartment shopping, but no way was he going to admit that to Ian. Sounded far too gay for his liking.

Mickey drives them the short distance to the apartment before putting the car in park. The apartment was in the middle of Chicago. It looked nice on the outside too. Red bricks with large white windows and vines lined the front of the building. Mickey couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he stepped out of the car. "Shit, man... this place looks awesome."

Ian smiles and nods. "Yeah... yeah, it does. I love it," he says.

"Mr. Milkovich?" Mickey whirls around to be faced with a woman. She was young. Only a few years older than Mickey and Ian. She had bright orange hair just like Ian but had twice as many freckles.

"Uh, Yeah?"

She smiles. "Hi, I'm Kylie the landlord," she says, sticking her hand out.

Mickey nods and shakes her hand. "This is my boyfriend, Ian."

Ian couldn't help but grin at the word boyfriend. It was the first time Mickey had introduced him to anyone in that way. She smiles and moves on to shake Ian's hand. "It's nice to meet the both of you."

Ian nods and shakes her hand. "Thank you. It's nice to meet you too."

"So, you two ready to see the apartment?" She asks.

Once the both of them nod she leaves them inside. The apartment was on the second floor which meant the ascent up the stairs wasn't too bad. They stopped in front of a door and ya Kylie unlocks it for the three of them, allowing Ian and Mickey to walk in before her.

The apartment was a decent size for the price and came with furniture. Kylie leads them first to the kitchen. It had white counters, a large fridge, and cabinets hanging above them. Off to the side was a decent sized table. It was made of dark wood with four matching chairs tucked underneath it. “Kitchen’s beautiful,” Ian says. “I could make breakfast for you and Yevvy every day here.”

Mickey chuckles quietly and so does Riley. “It really is beautiful. Decent size for the prize you have to pay, too.”

Mickey nods in agreement. “Can we see the bedroom?” He asks, raising an eyebrow. She smiles and nods. Riley leads them through the house and to the bedroom. The master bedroom was around the same size as Mickey’s now but looked much larger since the clutter was much less. A bed was against the wall in the center of the room. Next to the side was a small nightstand and across, a dresser. The room was simple and tidy but Mickey knew it wouldn’t last long. Not with the three of them living together.

Riley gives them a tour of the rest of the apartment and the both of them are both completely sold on it. “I think we’ll take it,” Ian grins, Mickey nodding in agreement.

Riley smiles widely. “Awesome. Just need you to sign here,” she says, handing Mickey a clipboard.

“I can’t believe we got the apartment,” Ian grins as he gets into the car with Mickey.

“I know, man. Couldn’t have asked for anything better either.”

Ian smiles widely and leans over to kiss Mickey deeply. Mickey grins against his lips and cups the side of his face. “God, I fucking missed you,” Mickey pants out.

“I missed you too,” Ian says quietly, smiling.

Mickey couldn’t believe that he was finally doing this. That he was finally going to move out and live with Ian. It was all surreal to him. Like it wasn’t actually happening at all but just one giant dream.

“I also missed this,” Mickey smirks, running his hand over Ian’s crotch. Ian let’s out a small chuckle.

“And I missed your ass. You, uh... you think we’re safe here?”

Mickey couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think we’re good, fire-crotch.” It was eight o’clock and they were parked in the back of the grocery store parking lot, across from the apartment. The sun had set just a little while ago but it was dark enough to hide their car.

“Then what’re we waiting for?” Ian asks. Mickey stares at him for a moment before breaking out into a smile as he works on his jeans. He climbs into the back seat with Ian and undoes his pants.

“Grab the lube, bitch,” Mickey says. “Up front in the glove box.” Ian grins at him and opens up the glove box and pulls out the lube.

“I can’t believe you actually carry lube around in your car,” he laughs.

Mickey smirks as he tugs his jeans all the way down. “Well, it came in handy now didn’t it?” He asks, raising an eyebrow. “Now open that shit up and get in me.”


	16. The Start Of The End

Yev kicks his legs back and forth in the back seat of the car. "Are you still mad at Mr. Gallagher?" He asks.

 

Mickey glances up at him in the mirror and shakes his head. "Don't worry about it, Yevvy. Ian and I are fine now."

 

Yev grins widely and nods. "Good. I don't like it when you guys fight."

 

Mickey smiles a bit as he parked the car. They were so close to the finish line. So close to getting out of the house and finally starting their lives. Mickey just had to figure out a way to tell Yev and he was afraid the boy wouldn't understand why they had to move away from his mother and the house.

 

They pull up to the small elementary school and Mickey parks the car. Yev climbs out the back and grabs Mickey's hand, swinging it between them as they walk. "Are you two boyfriends?" He asks suddenly.

 

Mickey shrugs and rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh, Yeah. Y ah I guess we're boyfriends."

 

Yev smiles and nods. "I think I might get a girlfriend soon. There's this girl and I really really like her."

 

Mickey chuckles. "Yev, you're only five. You have a long long time before you need to be dating anyone."

 

Yev pouts. "But I wanna be like you, daddy. I wanna be a grown up!" Mickey laughs again and shakes his head. "Trust me, kiddo. Being a grown up is a lot harder than you think," he says as they walk into the school. As usual, Yev waves to all the passing janitors and teachers on the way, even the ones he didn't know.

 

Ian was waiting in his classroom, saying hello to the incoming students. He personally greeted each student as they walked in, including Yevgeny. "Good morning, Yevgeny. How are you?"

 

He grins widely. "I'm good," he says before going over to his cubby and putting his things away. Mickey glances over at him, hands in his pockets. "So, uh, I got work today until six. Think maybe you'd wanna hang out after? Svet is taking Yev and signing him up for baseball. Bet we could get a good hour in at your place before she gets back."

 

Ian smiles and nods. He’d been dying to hang out alone with Mickey. “Yeah, sounds great. Still got a few leftover brewskis from last time.”

 

Mickey grins. “Sounds perfect,” he says. He knew that the thought of hanging out with Ian later was enough to get him through the work day. That washing dishes and taking out the trash would be worth it in the end if it meant even just an hour with Ian. “Alright. It’s a date,” he smirks. “I’ll see you later.” Ian nods, a small smile on his lips.

 

“Yeah, Mick. I’ll see you later,” he grins. Mickey nods and glances over at Yev who was now at his table with a few other kids, coloring away on a piece of paper.

 

“Bye, Yev,” he says. Yev looks up and grins.

 

“Bye, daddy!” He calls, waving to him.

 

________________________________

 

The workday, though it had promised of a better night, seemed to drag on for hours. It was busy for a weekday afternoon and evening, but Mickey still felt like the work was never-ending. It was around three o’clock when Mickey felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He lets out a small sigh when he sees its Ian’s work number. “I gotta take this real quick,” he tells the other dishwasher. He slaps him on the back as he walks past him and outside to the side of the building. “Yeah, what’s up?” He asks. The other end of the line was quiet for a moment before Ian started to speak.

 

“Mickey, Svetlana didn’t come pick Yevgeny up yet. He’s freaking out and crying. He thinks you guys left him or something,” Ian says.

 

“The fuck you mean she’s not there?” Mickey asked in a slightly annoyed tone. He sighs heavily, taking his apron off and hanging it up, “fuck..I’ll be there in ten. Stay with him, alright?” He grumbles, storming out. Mickey was beyond pissed at her

 

At this moment, Mickey didn’t worry about telling his manager where he was going. He’d explain later. He gets into his car and drives off down the road.

 

He gets to the elementary school in record time and parks the car, walking inside and straight to Ian’s room. He saw Yev sitting in his chair, tears running down his face. Ian was next to him, rubbing the kid’s back. Yev’s eyes widen when he sees Mickey. “Daddy!” The boy hurried out of his chair and rushes over to his dad, hugging his waist. “Why didn’t mama come?”

 

“I don’t know, Yev,” he says, patting his back. But when we get home I’m going to make sure she gets a fucking ear full from me for it.”

 

Ian goes over to him, “I gave the kid cookies and juice to calm him down. Hope that’s alright,” Ian tells him. “I, uh, I’m here if you need any help. Just let me know.”

 

Mickey glances over at him and nods, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew if they were going to be moving in together, he’d have to get used to Ian helping him all the time. It was just a new feeling for Mickey to know that he had someone there that he could lean on every once in a while. “Thanks, man. I’ll keep that in mind,” he says. He grabs Yevs things from his Cubbie and hands it to the boy. Yev wipes his tears and puts his coat on before grabbing his bag.

 

Mickey and Yevgeny head to the car and go home. “Daddy? What if mommy doesn’t come home?” He asks. Yevgeny was having a lot of anxiety over Svetlana disappearing. He had never been abandoned like that before.

 

Mickey sighs as he drives. Once stopped at a red light, he turns in his seat and faces Yev. “She’s gonna come home. She always does. She’s probably just out with her friends or some shit. And even if... if something did happen and she didn’t come back, we’re gonna be okay. I promise.”


	17. Dead Lines

Yev and Mickey ended up staying up all night. It wasn't that Mickey wanted to, but Yev was worrying. Mickey had tried several times to get Svetlana on the phone or contact her, but she never answered.

Now it was a school day, but Mickey told Yev he didn't have to go. His boss had agreed to let him bring Yev to work and that was where they were now. Yevgeny was sitting on a chair in the back corner and Mickey was washing dishes.

 

Yevgeny sits quietly and plays on Mickey's phone. He didn't know where Svetlana was and he was worried she'd never come back. "When's mommy coming home?" He asks Mickey

 

Mickey glances over at him. "Soon, Yev. I'm gonna call her again when I'm break and figure this whole thing."

 

Mickey knew he had a small chance of actually contacting Svetlana. Her phone had been going straight to voicemail and he didn't know where to find her at, so Mickey was left with nothing to tell Yev.

 

"Did she get departed?" He asks, meaning deported. He had heard some kids calling Svetlana a commie and illegal. "Daddy, can we go get her please?"

 

"Yev I don't know, Okay? I don't know what happened but if she got deported they would have contacted me by now. So I doubt that's even a possibility," he says.

 

He nods reluctantly, "can I make posters? We can hang them up, maybe someone saw her and can call you."

 

Mickey quite honestly didn't care where Svet had gone for his own sake. He personally couldn't care less if she had been deported or thrown in jail. But for his own kid's sake, he knew he had to try to find her. "Not yet, Yev. It's only been a day. Just give it till the weekend until we start with the posters."

 

"How far away is that?" He asks. They were just starting the days of the week so Yev was still a bit hesitant and new with it

 

"Three more days," he says. "We can start them Friday if you want."  Yev nods a bit.

 

"Okay, three days and I can make posters for mommy," he says.

 

The rest of the work day was quiet. Mickey didn't bring up Svet and neither did Yevgeny which Mickey was thankful for cause he didn't have any answers for him. Once he finished his shift, Mickey drove the two of them home. He picked up a sleeping Yev out of his car. On his front porch, Mickey saw Ian sitting on the porch, smoke coming from a cigarette between his fingers. Mickey offers him a small smile when he sees him. "Let me put Yev to bed and we can talk?" He says. Ian nods and stands.

 

"Yeah, take your time," he says, opening the door for Mickey. Mickey walks in and carries his sleeping son to his room. He carefully takes his coat and shoes off before pulling the blankets up. "Good night, bud," he says, kissing his forehead. As he walked out, Mickey noticed it was quiet in the house which wasn't surprising since Terry spent most of his evenings drinking at a bar. So Mickey figured it was safe enough to have Ian join him inside.

 

Once ian gets the door, he follows Mickey inside. He shrugs off his jacket, hanging it up on the coat rack. He then follows Mickey into the kitchen, leaning up against the counter. "So, any word?"

 

Mickey shakes his head. He goes to the fridge and grabs two beers. "Nothing," he says. He hands a beer to Ian and sits down on the couch. "I've got no clue what to tell the kid," he says, kicking his shoes off

 

"Tell him she's gone, man," he mumbles as he follows Mickey to the couch. As much as he hated to break Yevgeny's heart, he knew the truth would be best for the child. He takes a seat besides Mickey, opening his beer and taking a swig, "he needs to know."

 

"Yeah, but I don't even know if she's gone yet. Maybe she's just... passed out drunk at some guys house," he says, taking a long sip.

 

"Give it until the weekend, send out a missing person report, and if she's not found, then tell him," he mumbles. Mickey nods. He leans his head back and closes his eyes. He was afraid that that was what it was going to come to. And as much as he wanted that, he knew it would be extremely hard to tell his five year old that his mother wasn't coming back.  As if on cue, Mickey's phone starts to buzz in his pocket. He quickly sits up and pulls it out.

 

"Holy shit... it's Svet," he tells Ian, eyes wide. He then clicks accept and holds the phone to his ear. "Svet? Where the fuck are you?"

 

"Tell Yevgeny I will always love him and I'm sorry," she says softly, not trying to wake the man sleeping next to her.

 

Mickey frowns and rubs his forehead. "Tell me what the hell is going on. Where are you? Yevs getting worried," he rambles.

 

"I'm leaving. Found husband to support me. Take care of Yevgeny, tell him that I love him very much," she explains

 

He stands up off the couch. As much of a piece of shit that Mickey was, he'd never leave his kid. No matter what. And the fact that Svetlana was doing just that, pissed him off to no end. "You can't just fucking leave your kid like that."

 

"This number is being deactivated. Tell him I'm sorry and I love him," she says before hanging up and shutting off the phone

 

Without the chance for another word, the line went dead. "That bitch!" He mutters angrily, throwing his phone down next to him.

 

Ian frowns and scoots closer to him. "Hey, what did she say? What's going on?"

 

Mickey shakes his head. "She got a fucking boyfriend or some shit... not coming home." He realized he was working to get Svetlana deported but it was going to be different. If she was deported Yev wouldn't have to feel as if his mother didn't love him. That she left because she was forced to leave. But now she left by choice.

 

"Hey," Ian whispers. "It's gonna be okay... I promise it's gonna be okay." He says, kissing the side of Mickey's forehead. Mickey closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath.

 

"I know I just... don't know what I'm going to tell Yev."

 

"I know, but we'll figure it out together. It's gonna work out in the end," Ian promises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Mother's Day to all you moms reading my fanfic today. And even if there aren't any moms here I hope you all had a wonderful day ALSO ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO WHOOP WHOOP


	18. Basic Instinct

Mickey was trying his hardest to distract Yevgeny. Right now they sat in Ian's car, Mickey in the passenger's seat and Yevgeny in the back. They were looking around at a few more apartments and some furniture, though Mickey lied and said it was just for Ian. "I'm telling you, man. The first one we looked at the other day was perfect," he mumbles, passing his cigarette over to Ian.

 

"Beautiful view, but the kitchen was a little small," Ian said. He was pretty excited for them all to move in. Finally, it felt like everything was falling together. They just had to get over these last few hurdles.

 

"Ian, come on. It was perfectly fine. Not like your ass is going to be cooking in there a lot." Yev overhears and peaks his head forward, looking at them.

 

"Why do you care so much daddy?" He asks curiously.

 

"'Cause I want to make sure Ian gets the best he can for his money," he explains.

 

Ian nods, "yeah, I don't wanna pay extra for something that's teeny," he explains

 

Yev nods. "I get it. It's hard to get lots of money. I only have five dollars right now." Mickey chuckles quietly and takes the cigarette back from Ian as he parks the car. It was around seven and the three of them had been hungry for hours, so they agreed to stop at Sizzlers for dinner.

 

Mickey steps out of the car and opens the door for Yev as the boy climbs out. "You got $5? Wow! Bet you could buy a milkshake with that money," Ian tells him. Once they're parked and step out, the three head inside and get a table. "Yev, What would your dream house be?"

 

"My dream house would be huge!" He says, grabbing Ian's hand. Mickey smiles at the small gesture as he presses his cigarette out in the ashtray and walks inside. "It would have a big pool! And cars! And a trampoline! Oh, and a tree house!"

 

"A treehouse?! Maybe I should have daddy help me build one?" He suggests ad he gently squeezes the boy's hand.

 

Mickey chuckles and hits his shoulder. "Don't drag me into this," he teases. They approach the counter and a hostess smiles at them. "Hi, welcome to Sizzlers. How many?"

 

"Two adults and one child," Ian says. He then looks down at Yevgeny. "Shouldn't daddy help me build a big treehouse?"

 

She nods, grabbing two regular menus and one kid's menu. "Follow me," she says before leading them to their table. Yevs eyes widen and he nods. "Uh... duh! I'd love to have a huge big treehouse!"

 

The hostess laughs softly. "Your guy's son is adorable," she says, setting the menus down.

 

Mickey smiles slightly, unsure whether to correct her or not. "Yeah..thanks," he blushes a bit. Yev giggles as they all sit down and Ian smiles over at Mickey. It was nice not having to hide in public with Mickey. It felt freeing.

 

She smiles and nods. "Of course. Your waiter will be over in a moment," she says, walking off.

 

"Thank you," Ian smiles. He looks over his menu, "what sounds good to you guys? I'm thinking of a steak the size of my face," he chuckles softly.

 

Yev laughs. "That's a big steak!" Mickey laughs along with him.

 

"You're right. Ian does have a big head," he teases.

 

The three of them held light conversation for a while. Yev colored while the other two drank and laughed over stupid jokes. It felt nicelike a weight had finally been lifted off of Mickey's shoulders. But he knew he still had one more thing to get past.

 

"Hey, Yev...Can I talk to you about something, Bud?" 

 

Yev sets the green crayon down and looks over at Mickey. "What, daddy?" He asks curiously.

 

Mickey rubs the back of his neck and glances over at Ian for reassurance. "So, uh, you know how mom hasn't been home for a few days?" Yev nods. "Well, it may be a while longer until she gets him and can see you again. And it's not that she doesn't want to see you because... because she does. It's just that things are complicated right now and, uh, she needs to figure some things out."

 

Yev frowns and turns to face Mickey full on. "So where is she? Is she okay?" He asks nervously.

 

"I don't know where she is exactly, but I know she's okay."

 

"But how do you know if you don't even know where she's at? She could be hurt!" He says, eyes watering up. Mickey sighs softly and pulls Yev into a hug.

 

"Yev, I promise you mom is okay. She just needs to clear her head for a while and figure things out and I'm sure you'll see her again if you want. But for now... for now we're gonna move out, okay? So that way we won't be alone with grandpa anymore."

 

Yev looks up at him. "Then where will we live at? I don't wanna sleep outside on the streets like some people do."

 

Mickey shakes his head and runs a hand through the boy's hair. "We won't. We already have a new place. When we went apartment hunting with Ian, we were looking for a place for all three of us to live in. Do you think that'd be okay with you?"

 

As much as Mickey wanted to move in with Ian, he could never do it if Yev refused. He didn't want to upset his kid any more than he already was. But the small smile now on Yev's face said it all. "Yeah, I wanna move in with Mr. Gallagher! Then it'd be like having a sleepover every night with him."

 

Ian laughs and looks over at the boy. "Maybe some nights I can make you my famous double chocolate milkshakes. My younger brothers and sister used to love them."

 

Yev grins widely. "Yeah, and then we could bake cookies like that one time!"

 

Mickey couldn't hold back the grin that was on his face from seeing Yev so excitedly. He was happy that finally after all these years they were getting out. That they would no longer have to deal with Svet and hopefully Terry. But Mickey wasn't worried about his father at the moment. He no longer wanted that man to control his life and this was his first step towards doing that and Mickey knew for certain, that this was the right step to take.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow okay, I can't believe I've finally completed my first fanfic! Yeah, I know the writing isn't great in many parts but I'm just glad I've finally completed it and I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it. Thank you for dedicating some time to reading, commenting and leaving kudos on this. It means a lot.


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